Your spinal discs act as a cushion between the stronger vertebral segments in your spine. These flexible discs handle a lot of pressure and help to aid in movement and flexibility, but due to normal stress or acute injury, they can shift out of place and become quite painful. This is known as a herniation, and a disc can herniate in a few different ways. We take a closer look at some common types of disc herniations and explain how Dr. Jackman and his team can help treat these disc issues in today’s blog.
3 Types Of Spinal Disc Herniations
Before we explain how a disc herniates, it’s helpful if we better explain the design of these spinal discs. Although much stronger, these discs are oftentimes compared to a jelly donut in structure. Picture a circular jelly-filled donut. A more sturdy outer ring of dough protects and houses a softer jelly-filled center. In a disc, the nucleus is the jelly area while the outer area of the donut is comprised of a tough fibrous layer that helps to disperse pressure and aid in spinal flexibility. We’ll use this donut example to convey how three different types of disc herniations can occur in the spine.
- Bulging Disc. The first type of herniation is called a contained herniation or a bulging disc. In this scenario, the disc absorbs pressure and changes its shape a little due to this stress, but the nucleus remains entirely contained within the disc. For example, if you press down on the jelly donut a little, you could likely change its shape or flatten it a bit without allowing any jelly to spill out from the middle. This change in disc shape can lead to pressure on nearby nerves, but simple conservative care techniques can allow the disc to decompress and regain a more natural shape.
- Disc Extrusion. The next type of herniation is called a disc extrusion or a non-contained herniation. This happens when the inner nucleus ends up breaking through the tough outer layer. Back to the donut example, this would happen if you put so much pressure on the donut that part of the jelly-filled center leaked out of an area of the donut. A leaking nucleus can compress nearby nerves of even the spinal cord itself. Sometimes it can be corrected with conservative techniques, while larger herniations may require a minimally invasive operation.
- Sequestered Herniation. A final type of disc herniation that we’ll focus on is called a sequestered herniation. This is very rare, but it’s also quite serious. This can occur when extreme force is exerted on the disc, causing the nucleus to significantly separate from the disc. Imagine you had a donut on the table and you smashed it with your fist, sending jelly shooting out of the donut. While not exactly the same in the disc, a sequestered herniation occurs when a non-contained herniation goes untreated, allowing the ruptured disc material to migrate into the spinal cord canal. When this happens, it becomes separated or sequestered from the disc, while also shrinking the space for spinal nerves to pass through the area, leading to pain and other troublesome symptoms. Oftentimes surgery is the best option for sequestered disc herniations.
A contained disc herniation can become a non-contained herniation, which can eventually become a sequestered herniation, so you should never ignore the signs of a herniated disc. Tackle the problem while it is more likely to respond to conservative care to increase your likelihood of full recovery without the need for surgical intervention. To talk to a specialist about your back pain to see if a herniated disc could be to blame, reach out to Dr. Jackman and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today.
