In majority of cases, spondylolysis presents asymptomatically which can make diagnosis both difficult and incidental. When a patient does present with symptoms, there are general signs and symptoms a clinician will look for:

- Clinical Signs:

- Pain on completion of the stork test (placed in hyperextension and rotation)

- Excessive lordotic posture

- Unilateral tenderness on palpation

- Visible on diagnostic imaging (Scottie dog fracture)

- Symptoms:

- Unilateral low back pain

- Pain that radiates into the buttocks or legs

- Onset of pain can be acute or gradual

- Pain that can restricts daily activities

- Pain that worsens after strenuous activity

- Pain aggravated with lumbar hyperextension

Spondylolysis (spon-dee-low-lye-sis) is defined as a defect or stress fracture in the pars interarticularis of the vertebral arch. The vast majority of cases occur in the lower lumbar vertebrae (L5), but spondylolysis may also occur in the cervical vertebrae.

Degenerative disc disease can result in lower back or upper neck pain, but this isn't always true across the board. In fact, the amount of degeneration does not correlate well with the amount of pain patients experience. Many people experience no pain while others, with exactly the same amount of damage have severe, chronic pain. Whether a patient experiences pain or not largely depends on the location of the affected disc and the amount of pressure that is being put on the spinal column and surrounding nerve roots.

Nevertheless, degenerative disc disease is one of the most common sources of back pain and affects approximately 30 million people every year. With symptomatic degenerative disc disease, the pain can vary depending on the location of the affected disc. A degenerated disc in the lower back can result in lower back pain, sometimes radiating to the hips, as well as pain in the buttocks, thighs or legs. If pressure is being placed on the nerves by exposed nucleus pulposus, sporadic tingling or weakness through the knees and legs can also occur.

A degenerated disc in the upper neck will often result in pain to the neck, arm, shoulders and hands; tingling in the fingers may also be evident if nerve impingement is occurring.

Pain is most commonly felt or worsened by movements such as sitting, bending, lifting and twisting.

After an injury, some discs become painful because of inflammation and the pain comes and goes. Some people have nerve endings that penetrate more deeply into the anulus fibrosus (outer layer of the disc) than others, making discs more likely to generate pain. In the alternative, the healing of trauma to the outer anulus fibrosus may result in the innervation of the scar tissue and pain impulses from the disc, as these nerves become inflamed by nucleus pulposus material. Degenerative disc disease can lead to a chronic debilitating condition and can have a serious negative impact on a person's quality of life. When pain from degenerative disc disease is severe, traditional nonoperative treatment may be ineffective.

Degenerative disc disease (DDD) describes the natural breakdown of an intervertebral disc of the spine. Despite its name, DDD is not considered a disease, nor is it progressively degenerative. On the contrary, disc degeneration is often the effect of natural daily stresses and minor injuries that cause spinal discs to gradually lose water as the anulus fibrosus, or the rigid outer shell of a disc, weakens. As discs weaken and lose water, they begin to collapse. This can result in pressure being put on the nerves in the spinal column, causing pain and weakness.

While not always symptomatic, DDD can cause acute or chronic low back or neck pain as well as nerve pain depending on the location of the affected disc and the amount of pressure it places on the surrounding nerve roots.

The typical radiographic findings in DDD are black discs, disc space narrowing, vacuum disc, end plate sclerosis, and osteophyte formation.

DDD can greatly affect quality of life. Disc degeneration is a disease of micro/macro trauma and of aging, and though for most people is not a problem, in certain individuals a degenerated disc can cause severe chronic pain if left untreated.