Mary, welcome to our global community. At such a young age, I am sorry to hear about your lumbar problems. And thanks for sharing information about the plasma disc decompression, a newer “spin” on an old technique of microdiscectomies. Here’s one company’s
approach (no pun intended).
I am wondering about your diagnosis as a result from “genes.” Did they say it was inherited because you were “too young” to have a problem like this? Here are a few things worth considering:
- there are many factors that cause DDD. My belief is the causes are multifactorial, e.g.
pathogens, stress, trauma, heredity, diet, etc.
- more and more patients on this forum are “younger.” So we all need MUCH more information why this is happening to so many people of ALL ages. That's why I started the non-profit!
To answer your question, many patients who come to this site prefer not to fuse their spinal segments. That’s what arthroplasty is all about – preserving motion that should be there when you need it!
At such a young age, I would wonder about underlying pathologies that might be contributing to your lumbar problem. But before I go down this complex path, can you tell us more about any injuries you might have sustained? What other diagnostic procedures have you had?