My Dr told me at my last visit that back surgery patients have a 50/50 chance of improvement??!! It scares the hell out of me for paralysis. He gave the 2nd option of steroid shots in between the discs. That can affect bone density. I asked for the gel to pump in between herniated discs. He said that's only used for compound fractures and more invasive. It also costs about $1k and has to be done every 1 or 2x a year. My xray last week is now showing bone spurs. All of this damage is irreversible.