Demystifying Bulging and Herniated Discs

Bulging or herniated disc

You’ve probably heard the terms bulging disc or herniated disc at some point, whether it
involved you or someone you know. While it’s true that those words can strike fear in a lot of people,
it’s important to understand what they really mean, and remove the scary presumptions we
have about them, as well know what’s normal and what’s not when it comes to our discs. Within the context of the spine you have numerous structures, but the two we’re focusing on here are
your vertebrae (the individual bones of the spine), and the discs (the cartilage ‘cushion’ in
between each of those vertebrae). Functionally speaking, these discs act as shock absorbers that allow your spine to move in different directions and deal with regular impact without damaging the other
spinal structures.

So, what is a bulging disc and what is a herniated disc

A bulging disc occurs when the entire disc “bulges” out of its normal space. To illustrate, Think of it like
this; if you were to put a chunk of playdough between two plates and squeeze them
together evenly, the playdough would act as a cushion, with the full weight being
distributed throughout the entirety of that playdough. However, if you squeeze those plates
together on one side only, you’d see the playdough protrude, or bulge, out the side that has
the largest opening, right? This is essentially what’s happening with a bulging disc. Interestingly, most of
us have posture and movement habits that put an uneven pressure on those discs on a
regular basis; that’s perfectly normal. And while that itself is not quite enough to cause any
major issues, over time, this can create weakness in ligaments and other stabilizing structure,
allowing more of that disc to protrude out.

A herniated disc is a bit different

For simplicity’s sake, let’s compare your disc to a jelly
donut. In this analogy, You’ve got this tough outside portion that holds in the filling. That’s pretty much
how your disc is made; a tough cartilage “donut” filled with a softer gelatinous component.
That tough outside. This structure keeps the jelly from leaking out. Now imagine that with wear and tear
over time and a lot of uneven pressure applied on that donut, the outer layer starts to
stretch and thin, allowing some of that jelly to push out. Essentially, this is essentially what’s
happening in a herniated disc. The outer portion thins and allows part of the inner
structure of the disc to push out of the normal disc space. Despite this, studies have shown that many people with bulging
and herniated discs have absolutely no pain associated with them. The discs themselves
have no nerve endings where you could even tell there’s a “problem”. However, the only time you’d
even recognize that there may be something going on would be if you started to experience
pain, and that only happens when the disc puts pressure on a nerve. And while that’s
absolutely possible, it’s equally likely to live a normal pain-free existence with a bulging or
herniated disc for years.

Fact or Not

In fact, these bulging and herniated discs tend to happen as a completely normal part of
aging. However, some bulging and herniated discs can be caused by poor posture and
movement patterns or injury to the spine, most cases are simply something that happens as
we get older. Nevertheless, this doesn’t necessarily translate into a painful or even noticeable
condition, but if it does, patients can experience pain, numbness, and tingling within the
low back, hip, and down the leg as well as a loss of range of motion. Interestingly, While not the only way
to feel this, one of the most common and obvious is if you’ve ever “thrown your back out”.
If you’ve felt this, you’ve likely irritated one of these disc issues you may not have even
known you had. Therefore, it’s important to seek medical attention.

That sudden inability to stand up straight after bending forward along

with pain or tingling, these are are classic signs of a sudden nerve compression due to a bulging or
herniated disc. Rest and extension exercises are some of are some of the best quick fixes to get you
standing up again at least, but it’s still important to seek out treatment.
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, whether it's that sudden unmistakable type, or the
slow, only occasional bout of pain, it’s crucial to seek proper imaging and testing from
your doctor and/or physical therapist to get you on the right track for therapy. This is not
something to put off. In fact, The sooner you can manage this, the better the results of treatment.
The key to treatment is to take the pressure off of the nerve, since that’s what’s causing the
pain. To achieve this, physical therapy is often recommended to not only learn movements and
positioning patterns to take that pressure off ASAP, but also to teach you exercises to
strengthen your low back safely to prevent recurrences, as well as new ways of moving that
can prevent that nerve pressure from being applied by the disc again.
Remember, while these terms may sound like a dreadful diagnosis, many people never
experience pain, or recover from short periods of pain with the right treatment protocols.
However, Others, with more severe symptoms, require more invasive treatments like nerve blocks
and surgery. Whatever you’re feeling though, it’s essential to get under a doctor or
physical therapist’s care as soon as possible to correct the issue and prevent any worsening.
And of course, massage therapy is here to decrease the associated inflammation, keep your
joints mobile and happy, and ease any other pain that comes from these conditions.