What is a herniated disc?

A herniated disc is a disc that extrudes into the spinal canal. It is also referred to as a bulging disc, ruptured disc or slipped disc. As a disc degenerates, it can herniate (the inner core extrudes) back into the spinal canal, as shown in this picture on the right. The light blue oval area is the disc and it is bulging into the spinal canal on the lower right side of the disc. A lumbar herniated disc can cause pain to radiate all the way down the legs and into the foot. In the area of the cervical spine, the pain would radiate from the neck down the arm into the fingers.

Approximately 90% of disc herniations will occur at L4- L5 (lumbar segments 4 and 5) or L5- S1 (lumbar segment 5 and sacral segment1), which causes pain in the L5 nerve or S1 nerve, respectively. Although disc herniations are most commonly diagnosed in the lumbar region, cervical herniated discs are not unheard of and occur in about 1 in 10 patients.

Recommended treatment is generally open back surgery, with high risks, hospital stays and lengthy recuperation time.

If you are showing signs of, or suspect that your back pain is related to a herniated disc, we recommend you take a look at our symptoms page. Here you can review detailed information provided by our world-leading spine experts.

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Following safe practices at home and the workplace can help you avoid injuries of all kinds. The most common workplace injury occurs in the back making it important to learn which activities you should avoid and which precautions you should take to insure your back remains healthy. Our page devoted to herniated disc causes will help educate you on how you can avoid back injury.

If you have been diagnosed with a herniated disc and you are fed up with having to conform to a lower standard of life, we suggest you view our page dedicated to herniated disc treatment. You can discover how our minimally invasive procedure can help you reclaim your freedom while increasing the quality of your lifestyle.

If you still have unanswered questions, feel free to visit our FAQ page where we answer some of the most frequently asked questions received from previous visitors. Also, feel free to contact us.