Herniated Disc Surgery – When To Consider Surgery, and When To Choose Other Options

Bulging Disc Surgery can be a very scary thing to consider, especially because of all the conflicting information you will find. There are definitely some instances where disc back surgery is necessary, but many times, this is not the case.

In fact, most of the research available today indicates that the success rate of herniated disc surgery is very low, and rarely provides lasting relief (in most cases, the pain returns within 5 years).

This article will discuss the different options available for herniated disc surgery, but before we cover that, we need to talk about what a bulging disc is.

The spinal discs are cushions that separate each set of bones in the spine. Their primary purpose is to act as shock-absorbers, protecting the bones of the spine from excessive wear and tear with movement.

Each disc is made up of a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus. In the case of a bulging disc, the annulus becomes weak and tears. This causes the jelly to shift from the center of the disc into the area of weakness, which causes the disc to bulge.

The most serious complication of this problem is that the spinal nerves are located directly behind each spinal disc, which is where the disc will tend to bulge if it is injured. Because of this, the bulging disc will tend to apply pressure on a nerve, which can result in a great deal of disability and pain.

In fact, an interesting fact about the spinal discs that you may not be aware of is that they are not able to experience pain sensations. This may sound odd to you at first, because as you know, this can be a very painful problem to live with.

But if you think about it, it makes sense that a disc wouldn’t experience pain, because they are absorbing shock all the time. If they could experience pain, you would be in pain all the time, with every movement you make!

So, what actually causes the pain in the case of a bulging disc? It’s actually the pressure on the affected nerve. Even more important than the pain, though, is the other parts of the body that can be affected by this problem.

Because the spinal nerves control everything in the body, pressure on a nerve will cause the body part being controlled by that nerve to stop working normally.

A good example of this would be a bulging disc in the lower back. The nerves that would be affected here control the legs, so it’s very common for a person with this condition to experience pain traveling down the legs, as well as weakness in the legs.

I’ve even seen cases where the pressure on the nerves in the low back becomes so strong that a person literally drops to their knees because they’ve lost so much strength in their legs.

Now, before we talk about the different types of surgery for a herniated disc available, let me just say one thing, because people often ask if there is a way for them to tell if surgery is their only option, and there is.

There are only a couple of circumstances that actually require surgery right away. The first is if you have a bulging disc in your low back, and you are losing control of your bowel and/or bladder. This is very serious and usually calls for surgery immediately.

The other situation that often requires surgery is when a person begins to experience weakness in the extremities (either the arms or legs). This is a sign that the nerves have so much pressure on them that they are beginning to fall asleep. This is also a very serious sign.

One thing I should say about that second situation, though, is that the weakness I’m referring to is an objective weakness that a doctor can only find through a proper examination. You may feel like you are experiencing weakness, but unless it shows up on the exam, it may not be serious enough to consider surgery.

In other words, your doctor is the only one who will know if you have a true weakness that calls for surgery.

Now let’s talk about the different types of herniated disc surgery commonly utilized today. Even though there is a lot of new research in this field, the two most commonly used forms of surgery involve either removing the bulging part of the disc to remove the pressure from the nerve, or removing the entire disc and fusing the bones above and below the disc together.

With both of these forms of surgery, the success rate is very low – only about 16% according to the medical journal Spine. Also, these often lead to other complications in the future. With a fusion, the joints above and below the fusion have to work extra hard to make up for the lack of movement, so those joints tend to wear out more quickly, and the problem will eventually spread throughout the back.

In the case of a disc resection, where they remove the portion of the disc that is bulging, the problem usually returns within 5 years, because if you are removing a part of the disc, it creates a weakness in the disc, and also causes scar tissue to develop over time.

Many people ask me about disc replacement back surgery, and other recent findings in this field, but at this point in time, these forms of surgery are not as commonly utilized. I believe there is a lot of promise in this field, but they really haven’t perfected this technology yet.

So, here’s the bottom line with herniated disc surgery – always view this as a last resort. The success rate is very low, and unless you fit into one of the situations that absolutely calls for surgery, you should try everything else available first.

So, what other options do you have? After working with thousands of patients with this problem, I have actually found that there are a number of treatments that are very helpful, and can truly lead to lasting results.

I’ve actually found that it’s a combination of treatments that lead to the best results. If you are interested in avoiding herniated disc surgery, and would like to know more about the combination of treatments that are most effective for healing a bulging disc, you can click here (surgery for a herniated disc) to get all the details.

Did you find this article helpful? Here are some other related articles and resources you may also find useful:

• Here is a list of the best resources I've found for Bulging Disc / Herniated Disc relief
• Back Disc Surgery – Things To Consider Before Deciding On Surgery
• Back Surgery For A Herniated Disc – When To Consider Surgery, And When To Consider Other Options
• Surgery For A Herniated Disc – When To Choose Surgery And When To Consider Alternatives
• More Disc Surgery Resources