I am a board certified pain specialist and have treated this condition in many patients. The poster that said your mileage may vary is absolutely correct.
Your doctor may have already explained this to you, but a slipped disc is a mechanical injury. There are normally 5 low back vertebrae, and we can imagine them as sandwiches. Squeeze to hard and the peanut butter comes out the sides.
Unfortunately there are nerves there and when the disc causes pressure on the nerve, we can pain, numbness and in extreme cases, weakness.
The worst case, which requires emergency surgery, is when your bottom feels so numb that you will lose control of your bowels and bladder.
If that happens, go to the hospital and get surgery or the loss of function could become permanent.
Ordinarily, surgery should only be used if there is weakness or loss of function. If you have surgery only for pain. The wear and tear will cause the pain to come back in 6 months to two years and you will wonder why you had the surgery.
The three ways to treat slipped disc are physical therapy, steroid injections and surgery
Physical therapy takes time, up to two to four years for maximum benefit, so pain meds are added to help complete the therapy. Pain meds do not treat back pain, they alter your perception of pain so physical therapy can be completed
Physical therapy strengthens the muscles around your spine to keep the individual vertebrae from moving. If the vertebrae move, the disc slips out more and the bones develop arthritis from the constant wear and tear
The best exercises are low impact. Swimming is gentle as it removes some of the effect of gravity. If you want to run, get an eliptical machine so your feet won’t touch the ground. If you run on a treadmill or the street, every time your foot hits the ground, a shock wave goes up your spine that makes the slipped disc worse
One of the overlooked causes of back pain is mechanical strain due to one leg shorter than the other, even as little as 5mm. A simple test is to feel the back of your lower legs. If one is bigger than the other, you may have strain due to mismatched length of legs. If you do, you can have your legs measured and an insole made for one of your shoes, think of it as an alignment. If your legs are the same length the stress will be taken off of your back and the pain improves
If the pain is too much or therapy is taking too long, there are steroid injections to shrink the disc and relieve inflammation, but they don’t take the place of therapy to strengthen your back. If your back muscles are weak, the bones move, which causes arthritis and the disc to slip again
A good exercise for back pain is planking. Lay on your belly, get up on your elbows and tip toes while keeping your back totally straight, not humped. Most can hold that position for 10-30 seconds at first, but if you keep trying and eventually make it to 4 minutes, your back is a maximum strength
Also if your disc is bad, don’t sleep laying flat. Gravity is not your friend, and your discs will fill up with water and push harder on the nerves if you lie flat. You may notice back pain is worse in the morning and gets better as you stand up and move. If that is the case, sleep in a recliner sitting up, and you may notice your mornings are better.
There are other treatments for back pain depending on the cause
Sorry if this explanation is too long, if you have any questions feel free to ask
Hope you feel better