As promised, I have posted some images that illustrate my injury.
The first image shows a vertical cross-section of my lower spine. You can see the bulge in the lowest visible disk (just to the left of the text on the right side of the image).
Call that disk “disk A”. The disk just above disk A (call it “disk B”) has a tear in it. This tear isn’t immediately obvious from the images (at least, not to me), but you can detect the tear by comparing this disk B to a healthy disk. See below:
This disk is healthy. There’s nothing wrong with it. Note the kidney-bean shape it maintains. Now, disk B:
Note that it does not maintain the kidney-bean shape – it has deformed because of fluid leakage. The leaked fluid causes irritation in the surrounding nerves and muscle tissue, and is one of the primary reasons for the intense pain I’ve been experiening.
Also, you can see in the top image (the vertical cross-section) that my spine does not curve to the degree that it should; that indicates that my muscles are suffuring spasms, which are also a source of pain.