What is the difference between a bulge and herniation?
A bulge is when the interior part of the disc (nucleus pulposus) becomes irritated and begins to push on the outer wall of the disc, causing the wall to bulge and possibly put pressure on the spinal cord or the nerves exiting the spinal cord. A herniation is a more extreme bulge, in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring (annulus fibrosus) of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion (nucleus pulposus) to bulge out. This tear in the disc ring can put pressure on the spinal cord or the nerves exiting the spinal cord.
