Do herniated disks always cause pain?
A herniated disk can be painful, especially if it presses against a nerve. But usually the condition is silent. Plenty of people who have herniated disks never know it — it simply doesn’t cause any pain. In fact, studies have found that roughly 22 to 40 percent of people without back pain have herniated disks. Many people who suffer from back pain also have herniated disks, but the two problems aren’t necessarily related. Many cases of back pain arise from sprained or strained muscles in the lower back, not leaking disks. According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, herniated disks account for only about 4 percent of cases of lower back pain.
