Usually a true herniated nucleus pulposus is most common in young and middle-aged adults. In older folks, the degenerative changes that occur in the spine with aging actually make it less likely for them to develop a true herniated disc.
Discs can rupture suddenly because of Best Spine Surgeon in Hyderabad too much pressure all at once on a disc. For example, falling from a ladder and landing in a sitting position can cause a great amount of force across the spine. If the force is strong enough, either a vertebra can fracture or break, or a disc can rupture. Bendingover places a great amount of force on the discs between each vertebra. If you bend and try to lift something that is too heavy, the force can cause a disc to rupture.
Discs can also rupture from a small amount of force – usually due to weakening of the annulus fibers of the disc from repeated injuries that add up over time. As the annulus weakens, at some point you may lift something or bend in such a way that you cause too much pressure across the disc. The weakened disc ruptures while you are doing something that five years earlier would not have caused a problem. Such is the aging process of the spine.
Bending the neck forward and backward, and twisting left and right, places many kinds of pressure on the vertebrae and disc. The disc responds to the pressure from the vertebrae by acting as a shock absorber. Bending the neck forward compresses the disc between the vertebrae. This increased pressure on the disc may cause the disc to bulge toward the spinal canal and the nerve roots.
Injury to the disc may occur when neck motion puts too much pressure on the disc. One of the most painful injuries that can occur is a herniated disc.
In this injury, the tear in the annulus portion of the intervertebral disc is so bad that part of the nucleus pulposus squeezes out of the center of the disc. The annulus can tear or rupture anywhere around the disc. If it tears on the side next to the spinal canal, when the nucleus pulposus squeezes out, it can press against the spinal nerves.
Pressure against the nerve root from a herniated disc can cause pain, numbness, and weakness along the nerve. There is also evidence that the chemicals released from the ruptured disc may irritate the nerve root, leading to some of the symptoms of a herniated disc — especially pain.
Herniated discs are more common in early middle-aged adults. This condition may occur when too much force is exerted on an otherwise healthy intervertebral disc. An example would be a car accident where your head hit the windshield. The force on the neck is simply too much for even a healthy disc to absorb and injury is the result. A herniated disc may also occur in a disc that has been weakened by the degenerative process. Once weakened, less force is needed to cause the disc to tear or rupture. However, not everyone with a ruptured disc has degenerative disc disease. Likewise, not everyone with degenerative disc disease will suffer a ruptured disc.