In addition to the 24 vertebrae of the spine, your spine also consists of 23 spinal discs. These “intervertebral” discs sit between each pair of vertebrae in your spine and provide support and mobility.

A bulging disc occurs when a  disc suffers damage and balloons outward  or protrudes from its perimeter, extending beyond the vertebrae edges and compression nerves.

This can occur for any number of reasons, but the primary culprit is everyday wear and tear or degeneration.

Keep in mind that these discs serve two primary purposes. First, they provide your spine with the elasticity that it needs to move. They absorb the subtle shocks that this movement can create as we go about our daily lives. But, this shock absorption comes at a high cost. It means that our intervertebral discs are also particularly prone to repeated pressure and damage.

When a spinal disc develops even a minuscule tear, it alters its anatomy and healthy inner pressure. A healthy spinal disc consists of a tough exterior (known as the annulus fibrosus) and a gelatinous interior (known as the nucleus pulposus). A scratch on the surface of the disc causes the “jelly-like” interior of the disc to rush toward the point of exterior weakness. This creates a protrusion beyond the wall into the nerve or spinal cord space.

If the pressure inside the disc becomes too great, then the nucleus pulposus can breach its container.

However, both protruding or herniating discs can cause similar symptoms–or no symptoms at all. The consequences that we experience occur when the disc presses against a spinal nerve root or spinal cord. Then, we can experience symptoms such as pain, numbness, or muscle weakness.