SLIPPED DISC

What is a slipped disc?

A slipped disc occurs when the outer part of your disc ruptures, allowing the gel inside to bulge and protrude outwards from in between your vertebrae. The damaged disc can put pressure on your whole spinal cord or on a single nerve fibre. This means that a slipped disc can cause pain both in the area of the protruding disc and in any part of your body that is controlled by the nerve the disc is pressing on.
A slipped disc is most common in the lower back, but it can also occur in the neck and upper back.

Causes and risk factors

Pain-Pain is an unpleasant physical or emotional feeling that your body produces as a warning sign that it has been damaged.

Tissue-Body tissue is made up of groups of cells that perform a specific job, such as protecting the body against infection, producing movement or storing fat.

Spine-The spine supports the skeleton, and surrounds and protects the delicate spinal cord and nerves. It is made up of 33 bones called the vertebrae.

Spinal cord-The spinal cord is a column of nervous tissue located in the spinal column. It sends messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

Ruptures-A rupture is a break or tear in an organ or tissue

Slipped Disk Symptoms

The nerves of the body exit the spine at each spinal level. A herniated disk can therefore produce symptoms anywhere along the course of that nerve, though the injury and irritation of the nerve are at the spine itself (this is known as referred pain). A slipped disk can produce varying degrees of pain in the back or neck along with numbness or weakness.

• For slipped disks in the neck - Numbness, tingling, weakness, or pain in the shoulder, neck, arm, or hand
• For slipped disks in the lower back
• Numbness, tingling, weakness, or pain in the buttocks, back, legs, or feet
• Numbness and tingling around the anus or genitals
• Pain down the back of each leg from the buttocks to the knee (this is called sciatica)
• Pain with movement, straining, coughing, or doing leg raises
• Difficulty controlling bowel movements or bladder function