If you got only back pain with out leg pain- usually settles with physio. Once pain settles do back muscle strengthening exercises. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration because dehydrated disc is more prone to injury. If you are going for surgery- you might need fusion. Back surgery is not 100 percent effective- but discuss with the surgeon.

Natural history of disc disease says that all those problems of a prolapsed disc should be treated with medicines for a short term and Physiotherapy: core strengthening exercises. So if that hasn’t helped for at least 3 months of Physiotherapy, then consider surgery. With that being said, every surgery has pros and cons. A spine surgery will give you relief from the pain of a prolapsed disc, but u still will need Physiotherapy to avoid future problems, especially the disc above and below the pathological level