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Learn About Intervertebral Disks: Part 3: Back Pain Series
© Artsy_Grampa
Jan 19, 2001
Intevertebral disks, mentioned briefly in my most recent article of the Back Pain Series, are situated in between the bones or vertebrae of the spinal column. Intevertebral disks are made of a fibrous, tough, elastic material called cartilage. The intevertebral disks are rings of cartilage which create space in between individual vertebrae to allow nerves to branch out from the spinal column to other areas of the body and the rings also contain a center which is composed of a thick fluid with a consistency similar to thick honey or molasses. The rings, and their fluid center are the shock absorbers of the spinal column, which help to prevent injury, pain and discomfort.
The intevertebral disks, acting as shock absorbers, take a lot of the sock from walking, running, sitting, jumping and other activities which could otherwise harmfully impact the spine and it's surrounding structures. Whenever you perform an action like bending, twisting or sitting the fluid filled center of the disk accomodates by balancing the pressure placed on the disks. It is when the disks become damaged through improper postures that the spinal column becomes at risk of incurring injury and chronic pain situations. Things that can cause damage from routine wear and tear of the disks are:
- improper postures
- excessive forward bending with back rounded and legs straight
- repeat daily reaching and lifting of objects in the same position, and
- slumped over sitting to name a few.
When damage to the intevertebral disks occurs, it starts at the center of the disk in the fluid filled ring and progresses outward. Often you will hear this condition referred to as a slipped disk even though the disk does not actually slip from between the bones. Instead, the fluid breaks through the rings and causes less of a shock absorbing cushion between the surrounding vertebrae. If a majority of the rings become damaged and there is very little fluid left in the central region, then the condition may be referred to as a bulging disk. When this happends it can cause extreme pain as the rings push against or into the spinal cord or the nerves exiting it. If a ring gets so severely damaged that it tears, this condition is considered a herniated disk. Whenever a disk wears out, loses it's fluid, bulges, tears or is otherwise damaged it loses it's height and becomes compressed. This action causes the bones to move closer together and the facet joints end up acting as shock absorbers. This will cause the facet joints between the intevertebral disks to wear out more qucikly and prematurely. The narrowing of the areas between disks causes compression on the nerves exiting the spinal column which can result in pain as a pinched nerve.
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The copyright of the article Learn About Intervertebral Disks: Part 3: Back Pain Series in Chronic Pain is owned by Artsy Grampa. Permission to republish Learn About Intervertebral Disks: Part 3: Back Pain Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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