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Magill’s Medical Guide, 8th Edition

Slipped disk

by Barbara C. Beattie

Disease/Disorder

Also known as: Herniated disk, ruptured disk, prolapsed disk, intervertebral disk displacement

Anatomy or system affected: Arms, back, legs, musculoskeletal system, neck, nerves, nervous system, spine

Specialties and related fields: Exercise physiology, family medicine, occupational health, orthopedics, osteopathic medicine, physical therapy, preventive medicine, sports medicine

Definition: A condition in which the soft, gelatinous center part of an intervertebral disk pushes out through a weakened portion of the disk, often placing pressure on a spinal nerve.

Causes and Symptoms

The spinal column has small bones called vertebrae that connect the skull to the pelvis. It is divided into regions: cervical (neck), thoracic (chest), and lumbar (lower back). Separating the vertebrae are intervertebral disks that provide cushioning and shock absorption during movement. The spinal column also has a hollow center portion called the spinal canal, which contains the spinal cord and nerves.

A slipped disk occurs when the outer portion of the intervertebral disk, called the annulus fibrosus, becomes weakened and allows the center portion, called the nucleus pulposus, to push out or leak through. There are various reasons that such bulging may occur. The process of aging is associated with degeneration and loss of water content in the disk material, which causes it to weaken over time, becoming less elastic. Improper lifting, excessive weight or vertical pressure on the spine, twisting, or forceful trauma can also cause a disk to rupture. Slipped disks are most common in the lumbar region, occur less frequently in the cervical region, and occur rarely in the thoracic region.

Symptoms vary with the degree of disk protrusion and nerve compression. In the lumbar region, the main symptom is low back pain, which may be a dull ache or a sharp and burning sensation radiating to the buttocks, legs, and feet (sciatica). Other symptoms include weakness or tingling in one leg and loss of bladder or bowel control. In the cervical region, symptoms include neck pain, often radiating to the shoulder, arm, or hand, and numbness, tingling, or weakness in any of these areas. All cases may include muscle spasms, and pain may be worsened upon movement, coughing, or straining.

Information on Slipped Disk

Causes: Aging process (degeneration and loss of water in disks); trauma (improper lifting, excessive weight, vertical pressure on spine, twisting)

Symptoms: Varies with region affected and with degree of protrusion and nerve compression; may include low back pain (dull ache or sharp, burning sensation), neck pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, muscle spasms

Duration: Chronic

Treatments: Initially bed rest, then activity and physical therapy; medications (pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, steroid injections); surgery (diskectomy, microdiskectomy, spinal fusion); chemonucleolysis

Treatment and Therapy

Conservative treatment with initial bed rest, over-the-counter pain relievers, and anti-inflammatory medications is standard for a slipped disk. Muscle relaxants may be prescribed for muscle spasms. After forty-eight hours, activity and physical therapy is recommended. Most patients recover with this regimen. In cases of acute pain, steroid injections in the back may be used to reduce inflammation. Various surgical approaches, involving diskectomy, microdiskectomy, and spinal fusion, exist for patients who do not improve with conservative treatment.

An often effective alternative to surgery is chemonucleoylsis, wherein the orthopedist injects an enzyme that dissolves the ruptured portion of the disk. In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration approved lumbar disc replacement as a treatment option for some types of low back pain. Some clinical researchers believe that as new materials and placement techniques are developed, spinal disc-replacement surgery may become a standard treatment for some types of low back pain.

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See also

Anti-inflammatory drugs; Back pain; Laminectomy and spinal fusion; Numbness and tingling; Orthopedic surgery; Orthopedics; Sciatica; Spinal cord disorders; Spine, vertebrae, and disks.

For Further Information:

1 

Gunzburg, Robert, and Marek Szpalski, eds. Lumbar Disc Herniation. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2002.

2 

Icon Health. Herniated Disk: A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References. San Diego, Calif.: Author, 2004.

3 

“Information from Your Family Doctor: When You Have a Herniated Disk.” American Family Physician 67, no. 10 (May 15, 2003): 2195-2197.

4 

Porter, Robert S., et al., eds. The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook. Whitehouse Station, N.J.: Merck Research Laboratories, 2009.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Beattie, Barbara C. "Slipped Disk." Magill’s Medical Guide, 8th Edition, edited by Bryan C. Auday, et al., Salem Press, 2018. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=MMG2018_1222.
APA 7th
Beattie, B. C. (2018). Slipped disk. In B. C. Auday, M. A. Buratovich, G. F. Marrocco & P. Moglia (Eds.), Magill’s Medical Guide, 8th Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Beattie, Barbara C. "Slipped Disk." Edited by Bryan C. Auday, Michael A. Buratovich, Geraldine F. Marrocco & Paul Moglia. Magill’s Medical Guide, 8th Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2018. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.