"A bulging disc is like letting air out of a car tire. The disc sags and looks like it is bulging outward. With a herniated disc, the outer covering of the disc has a hole or tear. This causes the nucleus pulposus (jelly-like center of the disc) to leak into the spinal canal."
Contained Herniation: Also known as a protrusion, orthopedists typically refer to a contained herniation as a bulging disc. A bulging disc occurs when damage to the nucleus of the disc causes outward pressure and distension of the annulus.
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 most common cause of disc protrusion is wear and tear over time. As we age, spinal discs become drier, less flexible, compressed, and more prone to tears and injuries. The supportive ligaments begin to loosen and weaken, causing the disc to bulge outward as the nucleus material presses against the outer ring.
In nearly all cases, surgeons can remove just the protruding portion of the disk. Rarely, the entire disk must be removed. In these cases, the vertebrae might need to be fused with a bone graft. To allow the process of bone fusion, which takes months, metal hardware is placed in the spine to provide spinal stability.
The pain from a herniated disc usually is worse when you are active and gets better when you are resting. Coughing, sneezing, sitting, driving, and bending forward may make the pain worse. The pain gets worse when you make these movements because there is more pressure on the nerve.
Some common symptoms of a herniated or slipped disc include: Pain that occurs on one side of the body. Sharp pain in one part of the leg, hip, or buttocks and numbness in other parts. You may also feel pain or numbness on the back of the calf or sole of the foot.
Herniated discs are considered more severe than bulging discs because they put significant pressure on nearby nerves, which can cause intense pain, inflammation and difficulties with movement.
Compared with a bulging disk, a herniated disk is more likely to cause pain because it generally protrudes farther and is more likely to irritate nerve roots. The irritation can be from compression of the nerve or, much more commonly, the herniation causes a painful inflammation of the nerve root.
A herniated disk is also known as a slipped, ruptured or bulging disk. It's one of the most common causes of neck, back and leg pain. Most of the time, herniated disks heal on their own or with simple home-care measures.
The incidence of a herniated disc is about 5 to 20 cases per 1000 adults annually and is most common in people in their third to the fifth decade of life, with a male to female ratio of 2:1 [6].
Pain is often described as sharp or burning. Numbness or tingling. People who have a herniated disk often have radiating numbness or tingling in the body part served by the affected nerves.
Bulging discs are confirmed with an MRI and usually measured in millimeters. A small bulge may be considered 1-3 millimeters, whereas anything over 4 millimeters is considered moderate. A bulge of 7 millimeters +, is considered severe.
Daily walks are an excellent way to exercise with a herniated disc, without putting additional strain on your spine and causing painful symptoms to flare up.
The optimal sleeping position for a herniated disc is on your back. Lying on your back keeps your spine in a neutral position so you have less chance of pinching the nerve. For added comfort, nestle a small pillow or rolled-up towel under your knees and lower back.
Skip movements that involve significant axial loading on the lower back, such as squats and leg presses. Avoid toe-touches, sit-ups, and yoga poses that worsen the pain and lead to significant bending of the back.
An L4-L5 disc bulge or slip-disc (slipped disc) pinches and leads to serious health issues, including impotence, reproduction issues, infertility, loss of bowel and bladder control, or paralysis in one or both legs.
Your doctor might recommend surgery as an option for your herniated disc if: Your symptoms have lasted at least 6 weeks and make it hard to do your normal activities, and other treatments haven't helped. You need to get better quickly because of your job or to get back to your other activities as soon as possible.
A L4–L5 disc bulge (or slip-disc) in the L4-L5 region can cause severe health issues such as impotence and reproduction issues. It can also lead to infertility, loss or control of the bowel or bladder, paralysis in one or both of your legs, and even death.
Self care: In most cases, the pain from a herniated disc will get better within a couple days and completely resolve in 4 to 6 weeks. Restricting your activity, ice/heat therapy, and taking over the counter medications will help your recovery.
The good news is that the vast majority of herniated discs can be treated without surgery using manual therapy and exercise or with IDD Therapy disc treatment. It is only a small percentage of cases which go on to have surgery.
MRI scan is the best non-invasive test available to find herniated and bulging discs and annular tears. Because the spatial resolution of spinal anatomy can be defined to 0.5mm with an MRI scan, doctors can identify with over 95% accuracy the herniated discs in the spine.
The average amount of time it takes for a herniated disk to heal is four to six weeks, but it can get better within a few days depending on how severe the herniation was and where it occurred. The biggest factor in healing a herniated disk is time, because most often it will resolve on its own.