What Causes Spinal Disc Damage Herniations, Bulges, Protrusions, Extrusion, Sequestered?

A herniated disk refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions (discs) between the individual bones (vertebrae) that stack up to make your spine.

What Causes Spinal Disc Damage Herniations, Bulges, Protrusions, Extrusion, Sequestered? – A herniated disk refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions

A spinal disk is a little like a jelly donut, with a softer center encased within a tougher exterior. Sometimes called a slipped disk or a ruptured disk, a herniated disk occurs when some of the softer “jelly” pushes out through a tear in the tougher exterior.

Throughout our lives, we have physical stress on our body, some being acute such as falls, traumas, accidents and others which can be chronic such as sitting for long periods, working at a desk for long periods, using computers or phones or even just standing for long periods.

These physical stresses may cause us to lose our normal alignment placing the spine in a weakened position.

At first, this causes no pain but, as the spinal structures are continuously abnormally loaded, they begin to break down leading to spinal damage and eventually the development of pain and functional loss.

Asymmetrical loading of the disc as a result of abnormal alignment causes nuclei pulposi to shift, creating a concentrated pressure to eventually break down the annulus fibres.

Decreased motion of the disc and joints prevents hydration and nutrients metabolic waste exchange causing dehydration and the development of discopathy AKA disc damage.

A herniated disk can irritate nearby nerves and result in pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. On the other hand, many people experience no symptoms from a herniated disk. Most people who have a herniated disk don’t need surgery to correct the problem.

The 4 Types and Stages of Disc Herniations

There are four stages of Disc Herniations
(1) disc protrusion
(2) prolapsed disc
(3) disc extrusion
(4) sequestered disc.

Stages 1 and 2 are referred to as incomplete, where 3 and 4 are complete herniations

( 1 ) Disc protrusion

Bulge in the disc but not a complete rupture

( 2 ) Prolapsed disc

Nucleus forced into outermost layer of annulus fibrosus not a complete rupture.

( 3 ) Disc extrusion

A small hole in nnulus fibrosus and fluid moves into epidural space

( 4 ) Sequestered disc

Disc fragments start to form outside of the disc area epidural space