by Kaixuan Liu, MD, PhD

What are the Affects of a Disc Tear?

Before we can answer what a torn disc is and what affect will it have on us, we need to first understand the vertebral disc and its functions. The two main parts of the vertebral disc are the annulus fibrosis and the nucleus pulposus. The Annulus is the tough outer shell that contains the nucleus, a soft gel like substance. There is a disc located between each of our vertebrae in the spine providing us with stability, and also acting like a shock absorber.

What Is a Torn Disc?

A torn disc generally refers to a tearing in the annular tissue, the outer layer of the spinal disc. A disc tear is typically caused by a combination of disc degeneration and trauma. When this combination occurs, the central disc material (nucleus) often moves into the torn area of the outer layer of the disc, forming an interpositional disc herniation. A torn disc could also allow for a portion of the nucleus to seep through the tear leading to a herniated disc.

One of the easiest ways to understand a torn disc is to picture a jelly donut.  The jelly inside would be the nucleus, while the donut exterior would be the annulus.  As the donut starts to get stale and dry up little cracks begin to form, and once these cracks tear, some of the jelly seeps into and eventually through the tear.  Although a torn disc is technically a little more complicated than this, this is the basic concept behind it.

The Difference between a Healthy Disc and a Disc Tear

A healthy disc is composed of a tough outer shell and a soft inner material called the nucleus pulposus. When a disc tears, the tough outer shell either cracks or tears allowing the inner material to seep through, causing painful disc tear symptoms.

The figures below show the differences between a healthy disc and a torn disc.