“What else can I try before needing surgery?”

It is important to understand what spinal disease you have first before considering treatment especially surgery

If there is progressive weakness of extremities, incontinence or instability of the spine, surgery may be the only answer. A full evaluation is needed.

It depends on the indication for surgery, which is failure of conservative management, namely, failure to control pain and paralysis/loss of function. If the indication is because of spinal cord damage potentially or ongoing, then the benefit of surgery outweighs the risks. If the patient has tried analgesics starting from the simplest acetaminophen, nsaids, gabapentin, narcotic, etc., with concomitant massage/physical therapy, interventional spine injections unsuccessfully. Surgery is also mandated at this point.
Hope you find this useful as a last point surgery or narcotic should always be last resort.

Dr. Aladesawe

You need a second opinion. Unless you have had PT, more conservative intervention may be effective, UNLESS you have lost sensation or movement in the extremity.