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Slip-Disk: Spinal Disc Causes and What They Mean

A slip-disk is the everyday name for a spinal disc that bulges or herniates past its normal edge. The disc does not really slip out of place. Part of it pushes outward, and it can press on or irritate a nearby nerve.

Common causes include wear with age, long hours of sitting, poor lifting habits, and a lot of bending or twisting. Herniated disc material often shrinks by itself over time, and larger herniations are the most likely to shrink (Chiu 2015).

This guide to a slip-disk, how a spinal disc is built and what scans can and cannot show, is published by Chiropractic Specialty Center, Bukit Damansara (KL) main center: WhatsApp+60 17 269 1873 Call+603 2093 1000

Key Points to Know

  • Disc material often gets smaller on its own. In one review, 96 in 100 sequestrations and 70 in 100 extrusions shrank on repeat scans (Chiu 2015).
  • Disc changes on MRI are common in people with no pain at all (Boden 1990; Brinjikji 2015).
  • The scan is not the diagnosis. It has to match the symptoms and the nerve check.
  • Surgery stays an option when weakness keeps getting worse or careful care does not help.

How a Spinal Disc Is Built

Spinal discs are soft, springy cushions between the bones of the spine. They let the spine bend and carry the body’s weight. Each disc has two parts:

  • Nucleus pulposus: the soft, gel-like center
  • Annulus fibrosus: the tough outer rings that hold the center in place

When the outer rings weaken or tear, the center can push outward. A wide, even push is called a disc bulge. A push in one spot is called a herniation. Doctors also use the words protrusion, extrusion and sequestration for different kinds of herniation.

Adult discs have almost no blood supply of their own. Their cells get food and water slowly, from blood vessels at the edges of the disc (Urban 2003). This short CSC video explains how discs stay hydrated.

What Causes a Slip-Disk

Most slip-disks come from many small strains over time, not one big event. Common causes include:

  • Sitting for long hours while leaning forward
  • Bending or twisting again and again
  • A forward head and neck posture, often from phone and screen use
  • Wear that comes with age
  • Lifting the wrong way
  • Sports injuries, slips and falls
  • Family history
  • Scoliosis and other changes in the curves of the spine

This short CSC video explains what causes a disc bulge.

Booking a Slip-Disk Check at CSC

To book a check-up for a slip-disk, contact either Kuala Lumpur center:

For travel, parking and opening hours, see Bukit Damansara address, hours and phone or Bandar Sri Damansara address, hours and phone. The chiropractic price in Kuala Lumpur and physiotherapy fees in Kuala Lumpur pages list current fees.

What Scans Can and Cannot Tell You

Herniated disc material often shrinks on its own. A review of 31 studies with repeat scans found that 96 in 100 sequestrations, 70 in 100 extrusions, 41 in 100 protrusions and 13 in 100 bulges got smaller. The bigger the herniation, the more likely it was to shrink (Chiu 2015).

Disc changes on scans are also common in people with no pain. Disc wear showed up in 37 in 100 pain-free 20-year-olds and 96 in 100 pain-free 80-year-olds. Disc bulges showed up in 30 in 100 at age 20 and 84 in 100 at age 80 (Brinjikji 2015). An older study found similar results (Boden 1990).

This does not mean the pain is not real. It means the picture on the scan has to be matched to the symptoms, the nerve check and the movements that bring on the pain. That match decides the plan.

Can a Slip-Disk Get Better Without Surgery?

Often, yes. Because many herniations shrink over time (Chiu 2015), it makes sense to give careful non-surgical care a fair trial first, unless there are signs that need a surgeon.

Weakness in a leg or foot that keeps getting worse should be checked promptly by a competent provider, and careful non-surgical care may still be a reasonable route afterward. If you have back or leg pain associated with a slip-disk, get urgent medical attention, a thorough assessment by a competent clinician the same day, if numbness develops or worsens around your genitals, between your genitals and anus, or around your anus. New difficulty passing urine needs the same urgent assessment; loss of bladder or bowel control does not have to occur first, and if it does occur, it is urgent too. These symptoms have several possible causes. Some may call for an invasive procedure, but the assessment determines what care is appropriate, rather than assuming surgery is necessary.

How CSC Cares for a Slip-Disk

At CSC, disc care is called NSD Therapy®. It joins four parts: spinal decompression (slow, measured traction on one part of the spine, using the RxDecom® system), non-rotatory chiropractic, focused physiotherapy, and exercise rehab. Other tools, such as shockwave therapy, may be added when the check supports them.

The aim is to take load off the irritated disc and nerve, keep the spine moving, and build up the muscles that support it. Yoga is not used to do any of that: with a slip-disk, it must be avoided. It is not a promise that a disc will be repaired or pushed back in. Care often lasts one to two months, depending on how severe the problem is and how often sessions happen, and progress is checked along the way.

Read more about slipped discs, slip disc care in Kuala Lumpur, gentle slipped disc care, slipped disc care at CSC and non-surgical slipped disc care. The back pain guide brings lower back, pelvis and leg topics together.

Peer-Reviewed References

  1. Chiu CC, Chuang TY, Chang KH, et al. The probability of spontaneous regression of lumbar herniated disc: a systematic review. Clin Rehabil. 2015;29(2):184-195.
  2. Brinjikji W, Luetmer PH, Comstock B, et al. Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015;36(4):811-816.
  3. Boden SD, Davis DO, Dina TS, Patronas NJ, Wiesel SW. Abnormal magnetic-resonance scans of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic subjects: a prospective investigation. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1990;72(3):403-408.
  4. Urban JP, Roberts S. Degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Arthritis Res Ther. 2003;5(3):120-130.

These references describe spinal disc problems and their care in general. None of them tests a care program at Chiropractic Specialty Center.

The Author of Slip-Disk: Causes, Symptoms and How It Is Assessed

Slip-Disk: Causes, Symptoms and How It Is Assessed was written by Yama Zafer, D.C., who has 30+ years in chiropractic and physiotherapy and founded Chiropractic Specialty Center in Kuala Lumpur in 2006.

Last Updated: Slip-Disk: Spinal Disc Causes and What They Mean

Slip-Disk: Spinal Disc Causes and What They Mean was last reviewed and updated on October 3, 2026.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. mustfa hussain June 30, 2018 Reply

    Sir, I am suffering from Disk Problem. I want to meet you to solve this issue. Please give me time for guidance and suggestions. Thanks, sir, My Cell Number is +923

    1. CSC Clinical Team July 2, 2018 Reply

      Distance changes what is useful, so this is written for someone deciding what to do before traveling anywhere.

      Three things should be established first, because they determine whether travel is appropriate at all.

      What the imaging shows, in specifics rather than in the word disc. Which level, which direction the disc has moved, whether it contacts a nerve root, and whether the canal or the exit opening is narrowed. Bring the images themselves, not only the typed report, since the report summarizes and the images can be reviewed properly.

      What your neurological examination shows. Is there measurable weakness in a defined nerve pattern, a lost reflex, or numbness that follows a specific nerve. Whether those findings are stable or worsening matters more than the level of pain. If your symptoms steadily get worse, or the care you are receiving is not helping, please arrange a medical review. New numbness around the genitals or anus, new difficulty passing urine, or loss of bladder or bowel control needs urgent medical attention: a thorough assessment by a competent clinician the same day.

      What has genuinely been tried. Painkillers, rest, and general massage are not a course of conservative care and do not count as a failed trial. A real attempt is directed at the affected segment, restores the movement lost above and below it, manages the daily loading that keeps reproducing the problem, and progresses into strengthening of the muscles that stabilize the spine. Many disc presentations improve with that and never require anything further, which is worth exhausting locally first.

      If those three are documented, an assessment elsewhere becomes a genuine second opinion instead of a repeat of the first. Come with the images, the reports, a list of medication taken and what each changed, and a written note of what makes symptoms better and worse through a day.

      Some have found spinal decompression therapy by devices like the RxDecom or similar to be helpful for spinal disc related issues, including those that at times cause nerve issues. Whether it suits a particular case depends on the findings above, which is why the assessment comes before the plan.

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