Injury Information - Herniated Discs

Suffering from a herniated disc injury can be the most intense type of back or neck pain. An experienced Bucks County personal injury lawyer will explain to you how you incurred your disc herniation and why it’s causing you extreme pain and suffering.  Most disc herniations are caused traumatically from the force of a sudden impact, such as a car accident or truck accident.

Herniated discs are nagging, painful and permanent injuries.

Learn the anatomy of your spinal disc and  how to minimize the pain from a herniated disc.

A herniated disc is more severe than a bulging disc.  When bones of the back (vertebra) are quickly forced or thrusted in one direction, the vertebra press together exerting flattening forces on the spinal discs. Spinal discs act as shock absorbers of the spine and allow the spinal column to move, stretch, bend, and turn. The spinal disc is made of a soft gelatin-like center known as the nucleus. The nucleus is surrounded by the annulus, which is a fibrous band that gives structure to the spinal disc. 

Spinal discs have the consistency of a jelly doughnut: soft on the inside and harder on the outer edges. When you apply force to a jelly doughnut, the jelly on the inside is forced sideways to the outer edges of the doughnut. Eventually, the jelly will break through the outer walls of the doughnut. This is actually what happens to the human discs in a car accident involving herniated disc injuries. The forces of the vertabra pressing on the disc forces the nucleus through the annulus, resulting in a painful condition known as a herniated disc.

The herniated part of the disc (the part of the nucleus sticking out through the annulus) oftentimes will press on the spinal cord or a nerve root coming out of the spinal cord. If the spinal cord or a nerve root is pressed upon, it becomes damaged and causes significant neck or back pain and also causes a condition called radiculopathy.  Radiculopathy is nerve damage which results in radicular symptoms such as numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, pain, and loss of strength in the extremities of the body. Many times nerve damage caused by a herniated disc is permanent or irreversible. 

A disc herniation is a serious and permanent type of injury that should get the car accident victim over the limited tort – verbal threshold restriction on their Pennsylvania or New Jersey auto insurance policy. A herniated disc is diagnosed by an MRI test.  Conservative treatment for herniated disc injuries includes physical therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, and pain management therapies. If conservative treatment does not relieve your pain from a herniated disc, your only other option may be spinal surgery to remove the disc and fuse the bones of the vertebra together.  Spinal surgery is always a risky and life-threatening surgery that should be reserved for only the most serious herniated disc injuries.

If you are suffering from a herniated disc due to a Philadelphia, Mercer County or Bucks County car accident, provide us with your name, email, and phone number and we will contact you to set up your free information consultation.