Hi StatiaMarie ~ DDD is just the drying out of the discs. So when the discs dry out, the kind of "flatten" or "squish" down, and that causes them to bulge out and sometimes they herniate. When they herniate, they can push on nerves, and that's where the pain comes in.

Everyone has DDD to a certain extent. It's just some of us get it earlier than others and some of us have pain with it. There are millions of people in the world walking around with DDD and herniated discs and they don't even know it because they don't have pain with it. A herniated disc doesn't ALWAYS cause pain.

Before anyone could diagnose you, you would need an MRI with and without contrast material. That would show the doctor exactly what's going on in there. X-rays wouldn't help because they don't show the soft tissue like the discs.

I would be extremely careful about doing exercises without talking to your doctor because you could be doing yourself more harm. If you do have bad discs and/or pinched nerves, you could make matters worse by exercising -- your doctor would be able to tell you what is the best exercise to do. But again, I wouldn't do any on my own without first asking your doc. Best of luck and God bless. Please keep us posted on your progress! Hugs, Lee