The disks help hold your spine up and allows it to bend and move. The inside of the disk is the jelly in the donut, which is called the nucleus pulposus. Now imagine that the donut has a hole somewhere in it and you press down. The jelly is going to squirt out of it — just like the nucleus pulposus would from your actual disk in your spine.
Movement, injury, pressure, age or just plain bad luck can cause the nucleus pulposus to push through the annulus fibrosis — just like the inside of a jelly donut would if you pressed down on it. A herniated disk could also be caused by disk degeneration, genetics or a combination. Certain activities like lifting weights or playing a sport might also cause a herniation. People experience symptoms of a disk herniation when it presses on a nerve or the spinal cord. A pinched nerve is called radiculopathy and typically causes shooting pain, numbness or weakness.
A herniated disc also called bulged, slipped or ruptured is a fragment of the disc nucleus that is pushed out of the annulus, into the spinal canal through a tear or rupture in the annulus. Discs that become herniated usually are in an early stage of degeneration. The spinal canal has limited space, which is inadequate for the spinal nerve and the displaced herniated disc fragment.
Due to this displacement, the disc presses on spinal nerves, often producing pain, which may be severe. Herniated discs can occur in any part of the spine. Herniated discs are more common in the lower back lumbar spine , but also occur in the neck cervical spine. The area in which pain is experienced depends on what part of the spine is affected. A single excessive strain or injury may cause a herniated disc. However, disc material degenerates naturally as one ages, and the ligaments that hold it in place begin to weaken.
As this degeneration progresses, a relatively minor strain or twisting movement can cause a disc to rupture. Certain individuals may be more vulnerable to disc problems and, as a result, may suffer herniated discs in several places along the spine.
Research has shown that a predisposition for herniated discs may exist in families with several members affected. Symptoms vary greatly, depending on the position of the herniated disc and the size of the herniation. If the herniated disc is not pressing on a nerve, the patient may experience a low backache or no pain at all. If it is pressing on a nerve, there may be pain, numbness or weakness in the area of the body to which the nerve travels.
Typically, a herniated disc is preceded by an episode of low back pain or a long history of intermittent episodes of low back pain. Pressure on one or several nerves that contribute to the sciatic nerve can cause pain, burning, tingling and numbness that radiates from the buttock into the leg and sometimes into the foot.
Usually, one side left or right is affected. This pain often is described as sharp and electric shock-like. It may be more severe with standing, walking or sitting. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter.
Show references Herniated disc. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Accessed Aug. Herniated disc. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; Levin K, et al. Acute lumbosacral radiculopathy: Treatment and prognosis. Herniated disk. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. As a result, the discs tend to become flatter and harder. This process—known as disc degeneration—starts fairly early in life, often showing up in imaging tests in early adulthood.
If this occurs in the lower back the lumbar spine , the disc protrusion may push against the nearby spinal nerve root. Or the inflammatory material from the interior may irritate the nerve. The result is shooting pains into the buttock and down the leg. See Lumbar Radiculopathy. A person with a herniated disc may be told by the doctor that degenerative disc disease led to the lumbar herniated disc. This term can be alarming and misleading. Degenerative disc disease is not a progressive disease per se, and it does not always cause chronic or persistent problems.
While a lumbar herniated disc can be extremely painful, for most people the symptoms are not long-lasting.
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