Often,<unk>  can be successfully treated without surgery. One or a combination of treatments such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, traction, or epidural steroid injection often provide adequate relief of troubling symptoms. Surgery may be recommended if the conservative treatment options do not provide relief within two to three months. If leg or back pain limits normal activity, if there is weakness or numbness in the legs, if it is difficult to walk or stand, or if medication or physical therapy are ineffective, surgery may be necessary, most often spinal fusion. There are many surgical options for the treatment of<unk> , including anterior and posterior approaches. The most common surgical treatments include: Traditional approaches in treating patients with<unk> -resultant herniated discs oftentimes include discectomy — which, in essence, is a spine-related surgical procedure involving the removal of damaged intervertebral discs (either whole removal, or partially-based). The former of these two discectomy techniques involved in open discectomy is known as Subtotal Discectomy (SD; or, aggressive discectomy) and the latter, Limited Discectomy (LD; or, conservative discectomy). However, with either technique, the probability of post-operative reherniation exists and at a considerably high maximum of 21%, prompting patients to potentially undergo recurrent disk surgery. New treatments are emerging that are still in the beginning clinical trial phases. Glucosamine injections may offer pain relief for some without precluding the use of more aggressive treatment options. In the United States, artificial disc replacement is viewed cautiously as a possible alternative to fusion in carefully selected patients, yet it is widely used in a broader range of cases in Europe, where multi-level disc replacement of the cervical and lumbar spine is common. Adult stem cell or cell transplantation therapies for disc regeneration are in their infancy of development, but initial clinical trials have shown cell transplantation to be safe and initial observations suggest some beneficial effects for associated pain and disability. An optimal cell type, transplantation method, cell density, carrier, or patient indication remains to be determined. Investigation into mesenchymal stem cell therapy knife-less fusion of vertebrae in the United States began in 2006 and a DiscGenics nucleus pulposus progenitor cell transplantation clinical trial has started as of 2018 in the United States and Japan. Researchers and surgeons have conducted clinical and basic science studies to uncover the<unk>  capacity possessed by the large animal species involved (humans and quadrupeds) for potential therapies to treat the<unk> . Some therapies, carried out by research laboratories in New York, include introduction of biologically-engineered, injectable riboflavin cross-linked high density collagen (HDC-laden) gels into<unk>  spinal segments to induce regeneration, ultimately restoring functionality and structure to the two main inner and outer components of vertebral discs — anulus fibrosus and the nucleus pulposus.
Degenerative disc disease
Lumbar disc disease
Spinal disc herniation
Discitis
Spinal disease
Spinal tumor
Spinal stenosis
Lumbar spinal stenosis