The majority of people diagnosed with a herniated disc will not have to be subjected to surgery.  Those that pass the qualifications for a surgery will be given surgical options.  The more traditional open back surgery is not as common today because of the risks involved, as well as the longer recovery time and hospitalization requirement.

The non-traumatic surgeries available for people require a less invasive incision.  Because of this, the recovery time is almost immediate and requires no hospital time.  In fact, most people will go home the same day and will only require a band-aid over the incision.

The lumbar section of the back is where the majority of herniated discs will occur.  The lumbar segments of the back are located in the lower back.  A lumbar herniated disc occurs when the inner gel-like material leaks out of the outer core.  A herniated disc in the lumbar section of the spine can put pressure on the spinal nerve root.  This will cause sciatica, which is pain that can shoot down the leg.

Nearly 90% of herniated disc in the lumbar area will occur at the bottom of the spine.  The spine is described in segments.  Most herniated discs occur in lumbar segments 4 and 5 (L4-L5), which will cause pain in the L5 nerve, or lumbar segment 5 and sacral segment 1 (L5-S1), which will cause pain in the S1 nerve.   Symptoms will depend on where the herniated disc is located within the Lumbar segments.