Degenerative Spine

Bulging Disk: A Condition Due To Degeneration Of The Spine

Bulging disk is a degenerative spinal disorder that occurs with age. It is generally starts with a pain in neck or lower back. The concept can be well understood, if you know the spine anatomy. The spine is made up of vertebrae. Beginning from the top, there are 7 cervical vertebrae i.e. C1 to C7. The seventh one is then joined to the first vertebra of the thoracic region. These are 12 in number i.e. T1 to T12, run along our back and gives a place for the ribs to get attach. There are 5 lumbar vertebrae in the lower inward curve of our back, i.e. L1 to L5. They are followed by a set of 5 combined vertebrae called sacrum, located in between the hip bones. At the end, there is a tailbone or coccyx which is again a set of combined vertebrae. The vertebrae of a spine are joined with the help of facet joints. The disks, the shock absorbing agents for the spine, are present in the middle of each vertebra. The spinal cord is present in the centre of the spine and nerves branch out at each of the vertebrae.

There is a great amount of water in the centre, called nucleus pulpous, of each vertebra. It acts as cushions for them. With age or due to some injury, these vertebrae experience enormous pressure. As a result, the outer covering of nucleus pulpous develops cracks and the water present in between starts drying gradually. This is how spine problems begin. Further loss of water and increased pressure leads to degeneration of the spine. The space between the vertebrae decreases and the facet joints get closer. As a result, the inner pulpous gets pressed with the outer wall and bulge out. This condition of the spine is known as bulging disk.

The symptoms for the bulging disk begin with pain in legs and lower back, if the disc at lower back is affected or the person can have pain in the neck or arms, if the cervical vertebrae are affected. The diagnosis is done by a doctor after he knows the complete case history of the patient. Then the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) spine, CT scans and X-rays are performed to confirm the presence of bulging disc.

Apart from bulging disk, there are other spinal spondylosis like disc protrusion, disc desiccation, disc decompression, etc. that arise with the drying of watery substance in the vertebrae and cause loss of normal spinal structure and function. The treatment of these disorders begins with conservative treatment like rest, physical therapy, and anti inflammatory or analgesic pain killers. Another non-surgical treatment is spinal decompression in which the spine is stretched slowly and gently to ease of the pressure of discs. If the condition is serious then surgical treatments become necessary. Disc decompression is one of the surgical treatment in which a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and/or disc material from under the nerve root is removed. There are many spine therapy centers all over the world that ensures the cure of the narrowing spine.