A Bulging Disc - Why me? Why now?

A Bulging Disc - Why me? Why now? 

Tommy Conway, Director and Lead Physiotherapist at OneHEALTH

A bulging disc, slipped disc, ruptured disc and a disc herniation are all the same thing. They are called different names to help us grasp what has happened but they are essentially the same problem. This problem can happen at any level of the spine but most commonly it occurs in the lower back and neck. A bulging disc can present as sciatica symptoms with pain running down the leg but not always. Most can avoid getting to that stage but there are early signs such as: stiffness when bending down, difficult to get out of a low seated position, unable to put on socks without stiffness. You will also find yourself getting stiffness standing at the sink, brushing your teeth or walking for 30 mins or more. This is your body showing you signs that it is losing key movements. There is a direct correlation between losing the movements listed above and disc degeneration and further damage to your spine. 

What is a disc bulge?

Your spine is made up of bones called vertebrae and each bone has a disc in between them, the disc acts as a cushion so the spinal bones don’t make direct contact with each other. The discs are a jelly like substance with a tough exterior and a soft centre. When they get damaged the tough exterior breaks down and the soft jelly like substance spills out. Over time if you don’t intervene this bulging disc can get bigger and move closer to a nerve and start to compress a spinal nerve and cause severe symptoms like sciatica. 

Why does it happen? 

This happens because you lose spinal movement, as you age you are told “it’s normal to get stiffer”, “it’s normal not to be able to do what you once could”. For me it’s a sad existence and a sad thought process to think that the body cannot be kept in a good place into our 90’s. There is a time where we all feel that we are not able to do tasks like we used to but at that moment  we don’t see the obvious warning shots of what is slowing us down. You choose to ignore it or you don’t understand the significance and hope that it will pass.  With the spine it doesn’t pass, it doesn’t go away,  you just change your behaviour. Instead of struggling to put on your shoes in sitting, you now are placing your foot on a chair to put them on. These changes in behaviour will further compound the loss of movement and further increase the damage. This loss of key flexibility will then leave the spine vulnerable to damage and the damage usually occurs with a twisting action. There are two types of people with disc bulges. Which one are you? 

1: You can remember the exact incident, usually a lifting or a twisting action 

2: It came out of nowhere, a build up over time. 

The twisting action is what causes the tear in the hard exterior of the disc. The twist can occur fast and powerfully (incident) or over time slowly tearing away at the disc. The slow occurrence is due to repetitive actions with twisting involved. For example, Sitting at your computer with your monitor to the right, your spine is twisted to the right for 8 hours a day. These actions will cause damage over time and your body will let you know by losing movement to compensate for these actions. 

Will the disc bulge go back in? 

Disc bulges will not move back in, they are damaged and your body is at a deficit. It is important to recognise this and start planning how to save your spine. This deficit can be counteracted by finding what movements you lack and restoring them first. This will prevent any further damage and allow you to move more freely. The mistake people make is they try a generic class like yoga and pilates too early. They haven’t been assessed to understand how to restore their movement and undo the twisting action that caused the damage.This is the most important step, don't skip it. Then you need to strengthen your muscles that surround the damaged disc. 

Don’t regret not acting sooner, it’s in the past and you need to act now. don’t put it on the long finger, act now. If you are stiff, putting on your socks, brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, getting up from a low seat, walking 30 mins, you need to act now. You need to fight to get your movement back and fight even harder to keep it. Remember age is only a number but what really matters is how flexible your spine is.

“You are only as young as your spine is flexible.”  Joseph Pilates