You know, you reach down to close the cupboard, and Whamo. Shooting pain, inability to stand straight up without holding on to something. What is happening?
In: Biology
“Throwing your back out” often refers to busting a disc. What we learned in physical therapy school is that your discs contain a jelly like substance that causes pain when it extrudes. It’s uncommon to bust one as a young person because the connective tissue that holds the jelly in is healthy and does not have wear and tear that can lead to larger rips. It’s also uncommon to bust a disc as an older (like over 70s) person because aging dries the jelly out so it doesn’t get squished around as easy. But ages 30ish-60ish are prime disc busting years, because cumulative damage in the outer layers has occurred, but the inner layers are still squishy and prone to protruding.
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