At Barley Wellness, our chiropractors treat disc injuries every day. Lower back pain is the number #1 cause of disability in America, affecting more than 80% of people at some point during their lives. There are many different causes of lower back pain, such as muscle strain or vertebral subluxation, but one of the causes of more severe lower back pain is an injury to an intervertebral disc.
Before discussing what causes disc injuries and what effective treatments are, it is crucial to understand what happens in the disc when it becomes injured. Intervertebral discs are made of fibrocartilage and rest between each vertebra in the spine. They act as shock absorbers in the spine, absorbing the stress and pressure that everyday life places on our spine. The disc is made of a jelly-like center called the nucleus, surrounded by several cartilage rings. The nucleus moves with our movements to provide continued balance and force absorption to keep our spine healthy and strong.