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So, recovery for surgery after a herniated disc that’s done through a typical microdiscectomy is fairly quick. Our guidelines are, we expect you fully back to normal at four weeks. Patients vary. Younger patients are typically back to normal at three weeks. Older patients sometimes need a little physical therapy to get back to normal.

Surgery for a herniated disc in the neck is typically done through the front of the neck and involves taking the bad disc out and then either performing a fusion procedure or a disc replacement procedure.

Surgery for herniated disc in the low back is typically what’s called a microdiscectomy. It’s a minimally invasive surgery where a small incision is made in the back and that bad disc that’s pressing on the nerve is removed. Patients go home the same day.

Symptoms related to a herniated disc can range from no symptoms whatsoever to severe back and leg pain and even sometimes weakness or trouble with other areas of function. To treat those, the options start typically conservatively, such as physical therapy, medications, progress through injections and ultimately surgical intervention if none of that works.

There are different ways to classify a herniated disc. A bulging disc would be considered one of the worst forms of disc herniation. It can nevertheless still cause problems as you progress to worsening or larger disc herniations. Your worst case scenario is what’s called an extruded disc where it’s actually squirted out from its native location and those typically cause severe leg or back pain.