Slipped DiskMedical Author:
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACRDr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. Medical Editor:
Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP
Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEPDr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.
Slipped Disk OverviewThe disks are protective shock-absorbing pads between the bones of the spine (vertebrae). The disks of the spine are also referred to as intervertebral disks. Although they do not actually "slip," a disk may split or rupture. This can cause the disk cartilage and nearby tissue to fail (herniate), allowing the inner gel portion of the disk to escape into the surrounding tissue. This leaking jelly-like substance can place pressure on the spinal cord or on an adjacent nerve to cause symptoms of pain either around the damaged disk or anywhere along the area controlled by that nerve. The layman's term "slipped disk" is, therefore, a misnomer and actually refers to a condition whereby portions of an abnormal, injured, or degenerated disk have protruded against adjacent nerve tissues. This condition is also known as a herniated disk, ruptured disk, or prolapsed disk.. The most frequently affected area is in the low back, but any disk can rupture, including those in the neck.
Picture of herniated disk between L4 and L5 
Cross-section picture of herniated disk between L4 and L5 
Viewer Comments & ReviewsSlipped Disk - SymptomsThe eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:What symptoms did you experience with your slipped disc? |
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Slipped Disk
Sciatica Overview
Sciatica (pronounced sigh-AT-ih-ka) is low back pain combined with a pain through the buttock and down one leg. The leg pain usually goes past the knee and may go farther to the foot. Sometimes, weakness in the leg muscles occurs with sciatica.
- The sciatic nerves are the largest nerves in the body and are about the size of your little finger. They come out of the spinal column low in the back and then go behind the hip joint, down the buttock, and down the back of the leg to the foot.
- Sciatica is different from other forms of low back pain because while the pain most often begins in the back, it usually travels down one lower extremity.
- The pain is usually a shooting pain, like electricity. It can also burn like fire or tingle much like the feeling when your leg "goes to sleep." The pain can range from slightly annoying to totally unbearable. Some people have pain in one part...
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Lumbrosacral Disc Injuries »
Injuries to the intervertebral discs of the lumbosacral spine are invoked as a causative factor in one of the most common health problems in the United States — low back pain (LBP).
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