Does waiting for surgery affect the success of the operation?
A group from Derriford Hospital in Plymouth looked at the association between 109 discectomy operation and the duration of symptoms before the surgery. They wanted to know whether people with a shorter duration of symptoms tended to have a more successful outcome from surgery.
The study showed that, statistically, it probably does not make any difference to the outcome whether the pain has been an issue for a short or long time before having surgery.
So, if there is no proven surgical benefit to rushing into surgery, which has inherent risks, it makes sense to try other no-risk, or low-risk interventions in the first instance