My mother has a herniated disc in her lower back. Her doctor said surgery is up to her. He wants her to have it, but she’s pretty sure that if she tries hard at physio and stuff, she’ll manage. How should she decide what to do?

People with lower back disc herniations, or bulging discs, sometimes have the option of having surgery or not to treat the problem. This isn’t an unusual situation and it’s good to hear that patients are being given this choice.

In your mother’s case, if her doctor truly feels that the decision is your mother’s, she needs to feel confident with her decision. Your mother should ask herself which she feels would work best for her. If she has high expectations for the nonsurgical treatments to work, studies have shown that the confidence usually translates into success and satisfaction with the decision. If your mother ends up feeling pressured into having surgery and she doesn’t have the confidence that it will work, she may end up unsatisfied.

Ultimately, the decision is up to her.