Hi Thank you for your question to HCM. Medicines and physical therapy usually form the first line of treatment for disc herniation which he has already tried for around 6 weeks. Another medicine which can be tried is pregabalin or gabapentin which is specifically for nerve pain. Depending upon the location of disc herniation in the MRI and the compressed nerve, selective nerve root block is a next option. It is an injection of a streroid and local anesthetic in the spine. This helps many patients and is also diagnostic that the compressed nerve is the problem. The injections can be repeated if needed. If the injection helps for some time but pain recurs surgery (microdiscectomy) is indicated. Surgery is only for pain relief in the short term as results of surgery and no surgery are same at 2 years. At the age of 17 I would recommend trying all measures to control pain and avoiding surgery unless it becomes absolutely essential. Hope this is helpful. I would be happy to answer any questions.