What is going on inside in that spine of yours?
Your intrevertebral discs are pads, which are between vertebral bodies (the largest part of the bones in your spine). The outside anulus fibrosus of your disc is a dense fibrocartilage ring composed of 15 to 25 concentric layers. A softer nucleus pulposus is in the center of your disc and is more gelatinous.
The discs in the human lumbar spine are the largest avascular structures in the human body. Which means your discs don’t have a blood flow. They don’t have a way to re-energize and they also don’t have a way to remove toxins; and that is in a normal-undamaged spine. This ultimately means there is no way to repair a disc in the normal biological environment when it is damaged.
Usually patients are told they need surgery.
Your disc nucleus has a high concentration of proteoglycans. Proteoglycans attract water and create a higher pressure due to this hydration. Normally this is a good thing and helps us maintain our overall disc height and an axis of motion.
With years of excessive use, or during an acute accident anulus fibers may be weakened or torn. That damage can cause a portion of the intervertebral disc material to leak out—bulge out—or herniate—and this bulge can press against your spinal cord or other nerves. This can cause pain and decrease your ability to function.
So, you could have surgery to remove part of your spine and/or the offending disc material. But most of us do not want to change the architecture of our spines, or undergo the major risks of surgery.
Non-surgical decompression is the most elegant way to replace the lost moisture and regain disc height. This is the most natural and effective way to get your spine back.