Jogging with damaged intervertebral disc | Intervertebral disc

Jogging with damaged intervertebral disc

Running training has been enjoying increasing popularity for some time now and has developed into a real popular sport. For many athletes who have been jogging for years, the sport has understandably become an important part of their everyday life. The consequences of a damaged disc can be all the more serious for runners.

But first of all: in principle, jogging with a damaged intervertebral disc is still possible. However, it should be noted that despite all the benefits for the circulation, running can be quite stressful for the joints and spine. Especially when running on hard surfaces, the spine is exposed to shocks with every step, which can cause further damage to the intervertebral discs.

If you still do not want to give up running, you should therefore take some measures to prevent a slipped disc. First of all, routes should be chosen that lead over unpaved or tarred paths. Especially forest tracks are particularly soft and therefore well suited for running.

In addition, footwear should be worn which absorbs the inevitable impacts on the intervertebral discs as well as possible. Last but not least, it must also be said that running alone is not enough to train the back muscles adequately in case of damage to the intervertebral discs. Therefore, in addition to running training, exercises of the trunk and back muscles should always be included in the training plan. More detailed information and advice on this topic should definitely be obtained from your family doctor or other treating physician. In case of doubt, he is the one who knows your complaints and the extent of your disc disease best and can assess the risks.

Can the intervertebral disc be rebuilt?

The tissue of our intervertebral discs consists of a special form of cartilage tissue, the fibrous cartilage. In addition to the intervertebral discs, the menisci and the articulated connection between the two pubic bones (symphysa pubica) are also made of this tissue. As with other forms of cartilage, most fibrocartilage is made up of an organized network of collagen fibers that bind large amounts of water.

Cells on the other side are hardly found here, which is typical for cartilage. In fact, fibrocartilage contains even fewer cartilage cells than the other types of cartilage. These are able to maintain the functionality of the existing fibrocartilage under moderate load, can repair minor damage to the intervertebral discs and are also able to react to a certain extent to chronic loads.

However, they cannot compensate for severe damage to the structure of the intervertebral discs caused by permanent incorrect loading. For some years now, intensive research has been conducted into the possibility of cartilage regeneration, and in the meantime, various methods have been developed, especially for articular cartilage, which are intended to achieve recovery of the damaged cartilage. However, none of these treatment methods has been able to produce satisfactory results to date. Unfortunately, the conclusion that once cartilage tissue has been destroyed, it cannot be rebuilt, even for the fibrous cartilage of the intervertebral discs.