annular tears

[ganugapati]

I am a 26 year old, 210 lb and 6 ft tall and an extremely healthy guy and a runner.

I have 2 healed annular tears at L4-L5 and C5-C6. I have the following questions

1) Does having a healed annular tear increase the possibility of having a herniation in the future ?

2) I was reading somewhere that annular tears heal with scar tissue that is not as strong as original fibre and there is possibility of retear. I would like to get back to my original hobby of running eventually but the thing that is bothering me is that my healed annular tear could retear again. Is there a possibility for this to happen.

[sonu78]

Hi,
Disc herniations are all born from internal disruptions or 'anular tears' within the substance of the anulus.
In layman's terms you could say that the discs rips from the 'inside-out'.
the degenerated disc of a ‘disc tear survivor’ may always be somewhat painful because of this nerve fiber in growth.
important clinical potential of peripheral annular tears are their ability to induce premature degeneration in the disc .

Iam afraid that it may not be possible to return to normal running habbit.
Have an orthopedic surgeon opinion.
Good Luck.

[Godofredo MD]

Hi.

Unfortunately, annular tears do predispose a person to having disc herniations. Even though the tear has healed, there is always the possibility for it to be injured again, especially if you engage in activities that led to the injury in the first place.

Regarding your intention to engage in running again, it would be best to have your condition fully examined first by a physician before you engage in any strenuous activity. There are no definite guidelines on when one could return to sports after injuries such as this and decisions are made on a case-to-case basis.

Good luck.