8833 Perimeter Park Blvd.
Suite 904
Jacksonville, FL 32216
904-928-3303
904-928-3343 fax

Bulging Disc

Bulging discs have become so common that if they appear on a MRI it should read normal instead of abnormal.  But why and what is it anyway?

It is when our nice, plump, healthy disc starts to lose its height and becomes shorter and fatter.  This doesn’t sound pretty and it’s not.  Many times this is a precursor to a herniated disc and many more problems.

I have found the best way to explain what a bulging disc looks like is to have you think of an Oreo cookie with a marshmallow inside instead of the creamy icing.  If you hold this cookie in your hand and squeeze evenly on the top and the bottom of the cookie, the marshmallow will shorten in height and become fatter, squeezing out beyond the top and bottom cookie.  This would be a bulging disc that had even pressure on it.  If you do the same thing, except just press on the left or right side of the cookie instead of evenly, then the marshmallow will squeeze out one side, or at an angle.  This is usually the more common bulging disc.

Many times this comes from the way we have positioned our bodies for years. This sounds simple but it is not. Other times the bulge to the side can come from an impact injury, but the disc had already compressed and the situation was primed.

Pain is the first symptom that most people have and sometimes it is because the bulging disc is pressing on the root nerves in the spine, but sometimes the pain is coming from other factors and there just happens to be a bulging disc.  Many times the bulge will not cause any symptoms because it is not pressing on any nerves.

Even without pain it is important to relieve the pressure on the disc because continued pressure on the disc could lead to a rupture.  Also the pressure on the disc causes it to lose its water content and this causes further deterioration.

Bulging discs happen for a reason and the ReCAPS System™ finds that root cause to resolve the problem.

Other articles on contributing factors:

8833 Perimeter Park Blvd., Suite 904, Jacksonville, FL 32216 | 904-928-3303 | 904-928-3343 fax | solutions@stillinpain.info

The information presented here is informative only and is not intended to replace the advice of your physician.  There has been no intent to provide medical advice, diagnose illness or in any way practice medicine.
Always consult your physician on matters of your health.  License MM33984