Conditions
Disc injuries
Reviewed by Dr Voula Roumel, Chiropractor , registered since 1987, AHPRA CHI0000942872
Last updated
A spinal disc is the shock-absorbing pad between two vertebrae, a tough fibrous outer wall around a softer inner core. A disc injury is damage to that structure, most commonly in the lower back and less often in the neck.
A bulging disc and a herniated disc are stages of the same process, not separate conditions. In a bulge, the outer wall has stretched and the disc pushes beyond its normal boundary with the wall intact. In a herniation, that wall has torn and inner material has come through. Bulges are far more common.
Neither is the same as a slipped disc, which does not happen: a disc is firmly attached to the vertebrae above and below it and cannot move out of position.
What a disc injury feels like
- Back pain that is worse sitting, bending forward, or getting out of a car
- Pain, pins and needles, numbness or weakness travelling into a leg, the presentation described as sciatica
- Symptoms that change markedly with position, often easier standing or walking than sitting
- A sudden onset bending or lifting, or a gradual build over weeks
Symptoms travelling below the knee, or any numbness or weakness, are what distinguish a disc presentation that needs careful assessment from ordinary mechanical back pain.
When to see a chiropractor
Early. A disc presentation that has been irritable for a fortnight is a more straightforward assessment than one guarded and avoided for a year.
Some presentations need emergency care rather than a chiropractic appointment. Go to a doctor or an emergency department now, ahead of contacting the clinic, for:
- Numbness around the saddle area: inner thighs, groin or genitals
- New difficulty controlling your bladder or bowel
- Weakness in both legs, or rapidly worsening weakness in one
These can indicate cauda equina syndrome, compression of the nerves at the base of the spine. It is uncommon and it is the one worth knowing. If you contact the clinic with any of these you will be told the same thing and helped to get seen.
What the assessment covers
- A full history, how it started, what positions change it, how far symptoms travel, and what you have already tried
- Movement testing through the lower back and hips, including which directions provoke and which relieve, because that pattern is diagnostic in disc presentations
- A neurological screen, reflexes, strength and sensation in the leg, which is how nerve involvement is graded rather than guessed
- An explanation of what was found, in plain language, before any treatment
Where imaging would change what the chiropractor does, they refer, to bulk-billed providers wherever possible. A scan without a clinical question attached routinely finds disc changes in people who have no pain at all.
What treatment involves
- Specific chiropractic technique for disc presentations, hands-on, and adjusted during the appointment from what the chiropractor feels and what you report. There is no decompression table at this clinic, and what is used instead is described in full on that page.
- Chiropractic adjustment of the segments above and below, where restriction is loading the affected level
- Massage therapy for the muscular guarding that builds around an irritated disc
- Rehabilitation exercises, position-specific work, which for disc presentations matters more than for most
Between appointments
Disc presentations are position-sensitive, so what you do between appointments has an outsized effect. The chiropractor will tell you which positions to favour and which to avoid for now, and how to sit, drive, lift and sleep without repeatedly re-irritating it.
That advice depends on which direction your presentation responds to, which is why it is given after the assessment rather than found online.
If chiropractic is not the right answer, you will hear that. Where specialist care is the next step, you will get a detailed letter outlining the findings and recommendations, including the specialist we believe is best suited to your needs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bulging disc and a herniated disc?
A bulging disc is one where the outer wall has stretched and the disc pushes beyond its normal boundary, with the wall still intact. A herniated disc is one where that outer wall has torn and inner material has come through. They are stages of the same process rather than separate conditions, and a bulge is considerably more common than a herniation.
Do discs slip?
No. A disc is firmly attached to the vertebrae above and below it and cannot slip out of position, the term stuck in everyday use but it describes something anatomically impossible. What discs do is bulge, tear, dry out with age, or lose height. The distinction matters because 'slipped disc' suggests something that could be pushed back, which is not how any of it works.
Do I need an MRI?
Usually not. Imaging is useful where it would change what happens next, significant or progressing neurological signs, a suspected fracture, or a presentation that has not responded as expected. Scans taken without a clinical question routinely find disc bulges in people with no symptoms at all, which is why a finding on a scan is only meaningful read alongside an examination.
Can a disc injury heal without surgery?
Most disc presentations are managed without surgery, and the majority of people with disc-related back and leg pain do not end up having an operation. What a chiropractic assessment establishes is whether yours is one that suits conservative care, and if it is not, you will be told rather than treated.
When is a disc injury an emergency?
Numbness around the saddle area, inner thighs, groin or genitals, new difficulty controlling your bladder or bowel, or weakness in both legs need emergency assessment now, not a booking. These can indicate cauda equina syndrome. If you contact the clinic with any of them you will be told the same thing and helped to get seen.
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