Although disc herniation is a feared condition, most people can return to their daily lives within one or two weeks or months without the need for surgery. Although some of the symptoms persist, most people become functional.
You should receive medical support as early as possible so that your doctor can give you the appropriate medical treatment, exercises, physical therapy, correct body movements, and physical activities. An accurate diagnosis and early treatment will enable a more rapid recovery. Use all medicine as described by your doctor. Report changes in your symptoms so that your doctor can adjust them accordingly. If you begin to lose control of your bladder and bowel in addition to pain, or if you have numbness around your anus or genital area, inform your doctor immediately.
What is a Disc Herniation?
The spine is composed of a chain of bones, called vertebra, connected to each other. The vertebras surround the spinal cord and protect it from injury. The nerves exit the spinal cord and travel to other areas of the body to provide the connection between the brain and the rest of the body. The brain moves the muscles via conduction of the messages sent down through the nerves. The nerves also carry sensation, such as pain and heat, to the brain.
The vertebrae are connected to each other with discs and two small joints, named facet joints. The disc that attaches one vertebra to the other is composed of strong connective tissue, and acts like a cushion—a shock absorber like a suspension in cars—between the vertebras.
The discs are composed of a strong outer layer named "annulus fibrosus", and a gelly-like substance in the core, named "nucleus pulposus".
With increasing age, the center of the disc begins to lose water content, and the disc cannot perform its shock-absorbing function as it used to. The outer layer may rupture with further degeneration of the disc. This condition may result in the overflowing (disc herniation or rupture) of the disc core through a tear in the outer layer and into the space that carries the nerves and spinal cord.
The herniated lumbar disc may result in pain, numbness, tingling or weakness due to compression on the nerves in the spinal cord. This condition is called "sciatica" and affects 1-2 percent of people, often between ages 30 and 50. Disc herniation may result in upper back pain as well, however back pain by itself without leg pain may have many causes apart from disc hernia.
What are Treatment Options?
Most of patients—80 to 90 percent—who experience recent and first-time disc herniation may improve without any treatment. Your doctor will prefer to try nonsurgical treatments in the first few weeks. Despite the completion of treatment, if you continue to have pain that refrains you from your normal activities, then your doctor may suggest surgery. Although surgery may fail to give your leg its former power, it will prevent further loss and stop leg pain. Surgery is often recommended to cure leg pain (successful in more than 90 percent of patients), and is less effective in eliminating back pain.