Annular Tear Injuries as a Result of Serious Injuries from Slipping and Falling or Rear End Collisions.
The spine is comprised of several bony layers called vertebrae, and between each vertebra is a disk. The disk is comprised of a fibrous outer layer and then a soft jelly-like anterior. The outer layer has nerves running through it, so sometimes when there’s an inciting event, such as a rear-end collision or a fall on ice or a fall down stairs, the disk can actually crack, much like your skin getting cut on your finger. Just like your skin on your finger being cut, causes your finger to hurt, the crack on the disk can hurt. And that’s called an annular fissure or annular tear because the annulus, which is the outer layer—that’s what the doctors call it—is torn or is cracked. Sometimes it becomes more serious, where the crack would occur near the nerves. These yellow things are nerves here exiting the spinal cord, and if the crack occurs near a nerve and some of that jelly-like interior squishes out and touches the nerve, or even comes close to the nerve, it causes nerve irritation, and that would cause symptoms extending out and away from the nerves. So your brain interprets the nerve irritation here as though—if this is going down your leg, for instance, your left leg, as though it were left leg pain. So the brain feels left leg pain, but in reality, it’s just nerve irritation at the nerve root where the nerve exits the spinal cord itself.
Annular tears are generally pretty painful, though usually not serious. The treatment options include medication, injections, and even surgery; however, surgeries are rarely undertaken.
Hopefully, you found this video on annular tear injuries informative, and I invite you to
WATCH OTHER VIDEOS ON OUR WEBSITE.
Degenerative Disc |
Cervical Fusion |
Spine Injury |
Facet Joint Injury |
Disk Herniation |
Exacerbation of Injury |
Osteoarthritis |
Preexisting Condition |
