There are a number of conditions that fall into the category of degenerative spinal disorders of the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar areas, including, disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Disc herniations, disc ruptures, or disc protrusions are terms describing various degrees of displacements of the soft disc material inside the shock absorber which is called the intervertebral disc. Each disc in your spine has a gristle boundary on the outside and a soft pulp-like interior. When this disc protrusion compresses nervous tissue -- either the spinal cord or exiting nerve roots -- it results in either a nerve root disorder or radiculopathy in the upper extremities, including the neck, shoulder, and arm pain, and weakness and potentially numbness, or sciatica which typically describes hip and leg numbness, weakness, and pain.

Other degenerative spinal problems include spinal stenosis, which is simply a wear and tear change that results in bulging of the disc, enlargement of the joints, hypertrophy or enlargement of the ligaments that hold the various levels of the spine together, and as a result the spinal canal -- the tube that the nerves and spinal cord travel through -- becomes compressed. This can result in arm and leg weakness, spasticity, and even bowel and bladder problems. 

There is also an entity known as spondylolisthesis which can be degenerative. Spondylolisthesis means that one bone slides forward or backwards on the bone above or below it. When one segment of the spine slips or displaces in either direction, it can provide a scissoring effect on the surrounding nervous tissue, either spinal cord or nerves. This can result in all those symptoms previously described.

Another degenerative process is scoliosis or curvature of the spine. The spine can curve in multiple directions and cause narrowing of the disc space on one side -- incompetence of the joint on one side that allows the spine to tilt -- and at the same time, the spine can also rotate. Any of these deformities in any plane can result in a spinal cord or root irritation and compression.

Osteoarthritis is another word for degenerative joint problems and this word can be applied to the spine, resulting in any of the problems described above. Rheumatoid arthritis is commonly associated with cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spondylosis or wear and tear disc space changes. It specifically can attack the upper cervical spine and result in instability at the junction between the head and the first and second vertebra, C1, and C2.