Management of lumbar disc herniation – a review of conservative and surgical treatment

Lumbar disc herniation is considered one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, with a lifetime risk of occurrence as high as 30%. A common initial symptom is pain in the sacro-lumbar region, which may radiate to the buttocks or lower extremities. The management of patients with lumbar disc herniation includes both conservative and surgical treatments. Conservative treatment involves medications, physical therapy, traction and appropriate exercises, and often yields good clinical results in 60–90% of patients. Surgical options include various techniques, such as open discectomy, microdiscectomy, percutaneous laser disc decompression, and percutaneous microscopic discectomy, among others. The purpose of this article is to present therapeutic methods used in the conservative and surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation and to assess these methods in terms of clinical outcomes.