When to Have Surgery for a Cervical Disc Herniation

A cervical herniated disc is a condition where a disc from your spine (near the neck) pinches your nerve and causes pain to travel down your arm. Though the cervical disc herniation usually occurs as the result of trauma, the pain can occur spontaneously at any time. Treatments include medicine for pain management, but in some severe cases surgery is needed.

Pre-Surgical Options

• Before considering surgery for your cervical disc herniation, try other options. These include pain management drugs, such as over-the-counter medications like Advil or Tylenol or prescribed narcotics for severe pain. Also try corticosteroids for your swelling and inflammation, or epidurals (injections known as "blocks" to manage your pain). If none of these work, or if you still experience pain after trying a variety of treatment options, you may need to consider surgery.

Persistent Pain

• In most cases, the pain from a cervical herniated disc will go away on its own. If your pain persists for 6 to 12 weeks or more, however, you will probably need to consider surgery. Also, if your pain is so severe that you cannot manage it with medication, surgery can be helpful in relieving your pain symptoms. The surgery can greatly reduce or even eliminate your arm pain entirely, though you may still experience some pain in your neck afterward.