I have had herniated disk pain: NO FUN. I always suggest that if it gets to the point where surgery is a serious option please consider acupuncture along with physical therapy first. It may sound silly at first but I speak from experience. It helped my herniated neck disk. At the risk of sounding like a spammer also consider a pillow I invented that alleviates my disk problem when the pain reappears. The SquidFace & ComfyRest pillows. Lying on my back or facedown it corrects the herniation and alleviates the pain. It helps people with back pain also. It is strange but it works wonders. Good luck, Bob