Disc Injury

Many of our patients in Berwick present with disc injuries. The term ‘disc’ refers to the fibrocartilage disc that separates the vertebrae and provides the spine with shock absorption, stability and pivot points for movement. Discs are made up of two parts – the elastic outer layer (called the annulus fibrosis) which encloses the jelly-like inner layer (nucleus pulposis).

Through trauma, sudden excessive force or degeneration, discs can become deformed and part of the disc can protrude out between the vertebrae, although the inner contents remain contained within the outer elastic layer. This condition is commonly known as disc bulging, disc protrusion or disc prolapse. This is to differentiate between disc herniation whereby a tear in the outer layer allows the contents of the inner layer to spill out of the disc and into the spinal canal.

All these conditions can commonly be mistermed disc slippage, however, this is a misnomer, as the intervertebral disc itself is held in place by ligaments and muscles and does not move out of its position in between the vertebrae, rather the disc either loses its shape or the inner contents of the discs spills out. Whether the disc bulges or its contents spill out, the result can be irritation of adjacent nerves leading to pain associated with those nerves.