Treatment Options for a Herniated Disc

The primary goal of treatment for each patient is to help relieve pain and other symptoms resulting from the herniated disc. To achieve this goal, each patient’s treatment plan should be individualised based on the source of the pain, the severity of pain and the specific symptoms that the patient exhibits.

What Happens when a Disc Herniate?

While the spinal discs are designed to withstand significant amounts of force, injury and other problems with the disc can occur. When the disc ages or is injured, the outer portion (annulus fibrosus) of a disc may be torn and the disc's inner material (nucleus pulposus) can herniate or extrude out of the disc. Each spinal disc is surrounded by highly sensitive nerves, and the inner portion of the disc that leaks out contains inflammatory proteins, so when this material comes in contact with a nerve it can cause pain that can travel down the length of the nerve. Even a small disc herniation that allows a small amount of the inner disc material to just touch the nerve can cause significant pain. 

In general, patients usually are advised to start with a course of conservative care (non-surgical) prior to considering spine surgery for a herniated disc. Whereas this is true in general, for some patients early surgical intervention is beneficial. For example, when a patient has progressive major weakness in the arms or legs due to nerve root pinching from a herniated disc, having surgery sooner can stop any neurological progression and create an optimal healing environment for the nerve to recover. In such cases, without surgical intervention, nerve loss can occur and the damage may be permanent.

There are also a few relatively rare conditions that require immediate surgical intervention. For example, cauda equina syndrome, which is usually marked by progressive weakness in the legs and/or sudden bowel or bladder dysfunction, requires prompt medical care and surgery.

Conservative Treatments options-

For lumbar and cervical herniated discs, conservative (non-surgical) treatments can usually be applied for around four to six weeks to help reduce pain and discomfort. A process of trial and error is often necessary to find the right combination of treatments. Patients may try one treatment at a time or may find it helpful to use a combination of treatment options at once. For example, treatments focused on pain relief (such as medications) may help patients better tolerate other treatments (such as manipulation or physical therapy). In addition to helping with recovery, physical therapy is often used to educate patients on good body mechanics (such as proper lifting technique) which helps to prevent excessive wear and tear on the discs.


If conservative treatments are successful in reducing pain and discomfort, the patient may choose to continue with them. For those patients who experience severe pain and a high loss of function and don’t find relief from conservative treatments, surgery may be considered as an option.



The different conservative options for a lumbar herniated disc and a cervical herniated disc are described below.

Lumbar herniated disc treatments

Conservative approach to herniated disc treatment


A combination of the following conservative treatment options can be used through at least the first six weeks of discomfort and pain:

Physical therapy, exercise and gentle stretching to help relieve pressure on the nerve root
Ice and heat therapy for pain relief
Manipulation (such as chiropractic manipulation)
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen or COX-2 inhibitors for pain relief
Narcotic pain medications for pain relief
Oral steroids to decrease inflammation for pain relief
Epidural injections to decrease inflammation for pain relief