What causes a Slipped Disc?

What causes a Slipped Disc?

In our last blog we talked about what a slipped disc is, but now lets explore what causes a slipped disc

You might be surprised to hear that disc herniation is extremely common. In fact, I bet if you are over the age of 25 it’s highly likely you’ve had some degree of disc herniation in the past. Despite common misconceptions, herniated discs are a normal part of getting older – a bit like ‘wrinkles on the inside’. Usually they don’t cause any pain whatsoever.

Disc herniation happens due to mechanical forces on the spine providing wear to the disc. Over time this wear can lead to disc herniation.

When this disc herniation compresses on the nerve route, which is the bundle of nerves that comes out from the spinal cord, they can cause a lot of pain. This pain can both be in the lower back, and also down the leg and / or legs.

The main difference between somebody who has a disc herniation which causes pain and someone that doesn’t is the degree of irritation. If there’s excessive pressure placed upon that disc herniation, naturally they are going to cause much more pain than if you were able to take the pressure off of it. This is where physiotherapy can really help.

The good news is that disc herniations usually heal very well on their own, without the need for surgery. The body’s healing process reabsorbs the protruding disc substance and the outer layer repairs itself.

If your symptoms include incontinence or other bladder and bowel dysfunction, or you’ve got raging 10/10 pain 24/7 down both legs, then it might be worth going to the hospital to rule out cauda equina syndrome (which is where the disc injury causes compression on the nerves which supply the bladder and bowel), but otherwise you should be able to treat your disc injury very successfully conservatively.

If you want to discover how to finally eliminate sharp, achey, persistent back pain that can even take away your breathe away without relying on painkillers or wasting your time and money on short term pain relief then download our FREE E-Book here below