Back pain
Your disc is not slipping out of place
Discs are fixed to the vertebrae above and below. They cannot slip. What the language does to your recovery is the real problem.
Tomas Reiner
5 min
Where the phrase came from
Nobody is sure, but it stuck, and it gives people the picture of something loose that could pop out again at any moment.
What actually happens
A disc can bulge or herniate. The outer fibres allow some of the inner material to push outwards. The disc itself stays attached.
Why wording matters
People told their disc has slipped move less, guard more and recover slower. The same scan explained in plain terms produces a very different six weeks.