A bulging or prolapsing disc is when the inner and more liquid part of the disc pushes through the disc fibres and causes the disc to bulge and compress a nerve. Common symptoms include low back pain, leg pain, sciatic pain, pins and needles, or numbness and weakness. The pain is usually very severe, and often worse on bending, with movement, as well as coughing and sneezing. The cause of a disc prolapse varies from repetitive bending, bad posture, bending and lifting, to traumatic events like contact sports, or a car crash. The negative effects on the disc is typically cumulative. With the disc degenerating for years before it bulges and traps a nerve.