Inside Of Me

In a normal human spine, there are many segments separated by discs. These discs allow the spine to be flexible and act as shock absorbers. The nerve root from which runs along the spine and all the nerve of the body radiate from it to different parts of the body.
A healthy disc is bouncy and filled with liquid. Sometimes as a human ages or through abuse or lack of maintenance of the back, wear and tear occurs and a disc might break and its content leaks out. This is known as a herniated disc or slipped disc.

This usually occurs in the lower back known as the lumbar spine. Sometimes the protruding disc does not press on any of the nerves or tissues, and you might not know that you have a slipped disc. But sometimes, it presses on the nerve root and causes the nerve root to be compressed. This causes unbearable pain to occur in the buttock or/and the leg. This condition is known as sciatica.

Depending on the condition of the sciatica, some people are relieved of pain through painkillers or therapy. But sometime, the condition is too sever and requires surgery to remove the protruding disc and decompress the nerve root. There are many procedures available, but one of the best techniques is known as microdiscectomy where a small slit is cut and a surgical microscope and knife are inserted to remove the offending portion of the discs. This minimizes the intrusion and enables faster recovery.

Here is the a picture of my spine before the microdiscectomy: