I hear lots and lots of people say that they absolutely won’t do the surgery. The surgery changed my life. I had to do it twice, but that was my fault because I came back too soon from the first one and re-ruptured the same disc.
My understanding, as someone posting from a Holiday Inn Express, is that once that disc is fully herniated or ruptured you’re not going to physical therapy it back into place. You could do that with a bulging disc but not one that’s completely herniated already. The gel from inside that disc is pressing on your nerves and causing pain and it’s like toothpaste from a tube. You’re not getting it back in.
I’m sure everyone’s situation is different and lots of people can get by without the surgery. But if you need it, it works great. I’m 51 years old, several years removed from the discectomy, and I have no problem going to the gym and doing squats, launching my mountain bike off a 4 foot drop, running, sitting all day at work.. all the things that used to cause me pain I can do easily today because of the surgery