23/02/2026
A herniated disc goes by a few names: slipped disc, bulging disc, ruptured disc, or pr*****ed disc. Same issue: the softer inner material pushes through the outer layer and can irritate a nerve.
Why it happens? Sometimes it’s one awkward lift. More often it’s cumulative: lots of sitting, repeated bending/twisting, poor load management, deconditioning, and old injuries. It’s usually a tolerance problem, not just bad luck.
Common symptoms: back or neck pain, pain travelling into an arm or leg (sciatica), tingling, numbness, sometimes weakness. Sitting, coughing, or sneezing can flare it.
Where it herniates matters.
Central herniation (as shown in this video) pushes backward toward the middle of the spinal canal. Symptoms can feel more diffuse and may affect both sides, depending on what’s compressed.
Lateral herniation pushes to one side where the nerve exits. These more often cause classic one-sided nerve pain with clearer patterns of tingling, numbness, or weakness.
Get urgent medical help if you have new loss of bladder/bowel control, numbness in the saddle region, or rapidly worsening weakness.
Most cases improve without surgery. Start with conservative care: structured rehab, progressive loading, movement and strength work, plus appropriate manual therapy.
Injections (like epidural steroids) are often offered. Major reviews, including in the British Medical Journal, note they may help short term for some people, but strong evidence for meaningful long-term functional benefit is limited. They can buy relief, not “fix” the disc.
Surgery can be the right call for severe or progressive neurological loss, or when good conservative care fails. But it’s not a reset button. Studies commonly report about 5–15% recurrent herniation at the same level after discectomy, and roughly 10–20% reoperation over several years.
Chiro/manual therapy can help the right person, especially paired with rehab. Passive care alone isn’t a plan.
Harsh truth: no injection, no adjustment, and no surgeon can outwork a spine that hasn’t been rebuilt. Long term is resilience: gradual loading, better mechanics, stronger support, better recovery.
