A herniated disc is a very painful condition, sometimes the pain can be associated with only the back and other times you may get sciatica. This creates an even more debilitating condition.

First a herniated disc occurs when the central portion of the disc called the nucleus pulposis migrates outwards and breaks through the outer portion of the disc called the annulus fibrosis.

The disc has actually been shown to only be painful in it’s outer 1/3. So the migration of the central portion can go on for some time before pain is experienced.

Repetitive activities, incorrect sitting postures and trauma are usually to blame when it comes to herniated disc pain. These activities weaken the outer annulus allowing migration of the inner portion of the disc.

As the migration occurs and the outer fibers become contacted the pain sensitive nerves begin to become activated resulting in local back pain at first.

Usually a short period of relief may follow the initial beginnings of back pain related to a disc injury. As the activities responsible are modified the pain may lessen.

Once a bout of disc related pain begins however, the research shows it is almost always likely to come back without proper treatment. This is often dangerous for unsuspecting people who think they are out of the woods.

With the return of the pain there is also a corresponding increase the the area involved. This usually starts with a movement of the pain into the arm and leg depending on where the disc problem is.

If this migration of pain begins to move into your leg it is often referred to as sciatica. This is a term used to describe irritation of the sciatic nerve.

In many cases the sciatic nerve is compressed directly from the injured disc and other times it is simply chemically irritated by inflammation associated with the disc injury.

No matter what the underlying reason for the sciatica pain, the disc has to be treated properly. This means a functional treatment like spinal decompression.

Spinal decompression actually creates negative pressures in the disc to draw back the herniated material so the disc can actually heal.

This really is the best solution for sciatica caused by a herniated disc.