What is a slipped disk?
“As one of their primary tasks, spinal disks separate and cushion adjacent vertebra from one another. Made of highly specialized tissues and averaging about one-half inch in thickness, disks normally function flawlessly for their owner’s lifetime. But sometimes a disk herniates or bulges and presses or pinches spinal nerves. This condition is commonly called slipped disk, bulging disk, blown disk, protruding disk, and the like and is usually marked by pain, often excruciating pain.
A slipped disk means one of the disks in your spine has been damaged and may be pressing on a nerve. It can be very painful. The good news is that the pain from a slipped disk generally gets better on its own within about six weeks.1 Here we look at what happens when a disk in the lower part of your back is damaged. Key points about slipped disks • A slipped disk can cause severe back pain. • Most people who have a slipped disk also get sciatica. Sciatica is a sharp, stabbing pain that runs down through one buttock and into one of your legs. It happens if the disk presses on a nerve. • Slipped disks are not very common. Only about 1 in 25 people who have pain in their lower back caused by a physical problem have a slipped disk.1 • Although it can be painful, a slipped disk isn’t usually dangerous. It will probably get better on its own.2 • Surgery can help, but it’s worth waiting awhile to see if you get better without it.2 Doctors call this condition a herniated disk. We’ve used the t
