Always operate on a herniated disc?

The Swiss Medical Board has examined when a herniated disc should be operated on. It came to the conclusion that in the acute phase, provided that no functionally relevant motor impairments and symptoms exist, conservative treatment is to be preferred to an operation. If, however, there has been no success after approx. three months or the condition worsens, surgical intervention should be taken into consideration and the patient provided with objective information concerning this.