“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” – George Bernard Shaw
DISC PAIN
Some 80 million Americans have back pain each year. Much of this occurs in the low back and involves the disc, which is located between the vertebra or the bones of your spine. It is like a fresh jelly donut. Not to make you hungry, but the inside of the disc is a jelly-like material and referred to as the nucleus pulposous. The outer surface is tough and is called the annulus fibrosus. The disc’s purpose is to allow for motion between vertebral segments, act like a hydraulic shock absorber, and to distribute forces throughout the spine.
The inner layer is about 80 percent water when we are younger but loses hydration and nutrients as we age. Between degeneration and decreased water content, people can lose about three inches of height due to these changes. This is why our parents and grandparents appear to shrink as they get older. Their discs resemble stale donuts that aren’t very pliable.
This outer fibrous layer has interlocking fibers that withstand pressure from the disc within and support the disc when weight is applied to it. It takes roughly 300 pounds of pressure to tear this outer ring. These fibers also prevent excessive motion of the joints when we move.
If you press straight down on a donut the jelly spreads out evenly. When you compress the front edge of the donut continuously over many years, it forces the jelly to the other side of the donut. This is essentially what happens to our discs.
When the outer edge is under too much stress, it causes a bulge or protrusion in the outer fibers. The bulging can occur on any side of the disc. This malformed disc can put pressure on nerves or the spinal cord, and cause local or radiating pain into your arms or legs.
Notably these changes do not have to be the result of a specific injury, but may be caused by the accumulation of minor events that stress the spine. That is why repeating movements that negatively affect your posture can have a long lasting result, and a painful one at that.
A permanent decrease in the thickness of a disc from abnormal loading or repetitive movement can drastically reduce your range of motion, may alter the normal rotation of the joints,cause pain and lead to arthritis.
You may also experience a severe tilt to one side (antalgia), trouble standing up, or the ever popular bodily shift that looks like illusionist Chris Angel cut you in half and shifted your upper body three inches to one side of your waist. There may be pain shooting out sideways from the level involved or it may irrita
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