A healthy spine has disc tissue between the vertebrae, which has a swelling property that absorbs water and acts as a shock absorber. Bioengineering professor Grace O’Connell of the University of California, Berkeley says that herniated discs and other disc degenerative cases don’t re-swell as much, which can affect the nerves around them and trigger lower back and leg pain.

"So somebody with a herniated disc, the inner part of their disc squeezes out of the back, and either the body will care of it or a surgeon will go in and remove that material. And that material is actually very important for allowing the disc to re-swell. So if you lose that material, your disc can’t re-swell as much as it could before."

O’Connell’s says that understanding the biomechanics of healthy disc tissue can lead to new treatments that reduce physical stress.

"If we want to replace the tissue or design a total joint replacement for the intervertebral disc, we need to know how the healthy disc functions. So we’re moving towards understanding that a little bit better."