Dr. Stephen Hochschuler, co-founder of Texas Back Institute dicusses sciatica. With age, the center of vertebral discs may start to lose water content, making the disc less effective as a cushion and allowing the disc's center to fragment. The fragments can then displace through a crack in the outer layer of the disc. When one of these fragments of the center of the disc has moved into the outer fibers of the disc or beyond, it is considered herniated or ruptured. Most disc herniations in the lumbar spine occur in the bottom two discs, just below the waist. A herniated disc may cause back pain or, more commonly, can press on a nerve root in the spinal canal causing pain, numbness, tingling or weakness of the leg called "sciatica." Also known as a slipped or ruptured disc, or herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP). Also commonly occurs in the neck (resulting in arm pain or weakness) and rarely in the thoracic portion of the spine.
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