WHAT IS A BULGED/SLIPPED/HERNIATED/RUPTURED DISC?
The intervertebral disc is used to increase the mobility of the spine and provide shock absorbtion for the spine. It is made up of rings of thick tough cartilage (anular fibrosis) that are stacked on each other like rings in an onion. In the center of this onion is a jelly center that provides the shock absorbtion quality. Often the onion rings tear due to a heavy or improper lift, a whiplash injury, or just degeneration from poor nutrition to the disc and wear and tear. The jelly (nucleus pulposus) can then ooze through the cracks in the annular rings. If a few of these tear, the jelly can cause the disc to bulge out like a bad innertube (bulged disc). If the jelly breaks through the outer ring of cartilage and pooch out into the spinal column it is ruptured.
