I also posted this on the spinal disorders forum but I want your opinions as well.

I got an MRI on my lumbar spine, and the doctor said that I had to have surgery done. I probably felt the same way because 2 years ago, my back wouldn't respond to physical therapy or epidurals.



As you can see, the normal nerve root is about .5 cm in thickness (that was from my l3 disk) and the abnormal one is only .1 cm in thickness on both sides). Is that considered serious? I'm in Korea, so I couldn't really communicate well with the doctor. I assumed no because it didn't really bother my back, but it looks bad when I look at the MRI. I experience only minor back pain, but have pretty bad feet pain (bilateral). I have two herniations, l4-l5-s1, and they pretty much look the same as the bottom picture. Now, I also suffer from burning/tingling feet, primarily on the soles and outside of my feet, do you guys think that the impingement can be a cause of that? The other parts of my leg feel absolutely fine, which is why it may not be the cause. But my spine doctor feels like it is the cause, saying the l4-l5-s1 nerves contribute primarily to the lower leg/feet. He recommends nucleoplasty, do you think that it's a good procedure? Are there alternate more effective procedures out there? Thanks for reading.