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Understanding Spinal Discs and Tears

Michael Agruss

Written and Reviewed by Michael Agruss

  • Managing Partner and Personal Injury Lawyer at Mike Agruss Law.
  • Over 20 years of experience in Personal Injury.
  • Over 8000+ consumer rights cases settled.
  • Graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law: Juris Doctor, 2004.

While there is rarely any room for ambiguity in medical terminology, spinal injuries and their associated pain are one of the rare exceptions, as terms like “pinched nerve,” “herniating disc,” and “bulging disc” are sometimes used specifically and sometimes interchangeably. Added to which are terms such as collapsed disc, torn disc, ruptured disc, slipped disc, and disc protrusion, and spinal injury diagnoses can quickly become more complicated than they should be.

A spinal disc also called an “intervertebral disc,” is a round, disc-shaped piece of cartilage that sits between two vertebrae in the spine in order to separate them. Spinal discs play three roles: to serve as shock-absorbers; to allow for spinal flexibility, and to keep vertebrae in-line while protecting the spinal cord. The disc’s gel-like center is called the “nucleus pulposus,” and its fibrous outer layer is called the “annulus fibrosus.”

Spinal problems which result in pain are commonly divided into two broad categories: disc pain – including Degenerative Disc Disease, which results from spinal discs drying out due to old age – and pinched nerve pain. Most back injuries fall under the second category. A pinched nerve from a spinal disc occurs when damage to the disc’s strong outer layer (annulus fibrosus) causes its soft gel-like center (nucleus pulposus) to protrude and/or leak out, causing sharp pain when the nucleus touches and irritates a nearby nerve. About 90% of all pinched nerves from spinal discs occur in the lower back.

Other common sources of back pain include annular tears and sequestered/fragmented discs. An annular tear occurs to a disc’s outer layer (annulus fibrosus) and causes its soft center to leak out, though it need not result in the center leaking out to be considered an annular tear. Some are standalone injuries, while others are a given when they result in the center protruding or leaking. A sequestered disc, also known as “fragmented disc material,” occurs when a disc’s soft center actually breaks through the outer layer and lies in the spinal canal outside the disc, resulting in a piece of the nucleus breaking free from its intact core and moving freely. This can cause extreme pain when the fragment makes “close and complete” contact with a nerve.

If you or a loved one has suffered a back injury in an accident due to negligence, contact 844 See Mike for a free consultation. We are a Chicago-based injury law firm representing individuals (and their families) who have suffered an injury in an accident. We will handle your case quickly and advise you every step of the way, and we will not hesitate to go to trial for you.

Lastly, 844 See Mike is not paid attorneys’ fees unless we win your case. Our no-fee promise is that simple. You have nothing to risk when you hire us – only the opportunity to seek justice.

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