Lumbar surgery refers to any type of surgery in the lumbar spine or lower back between one or more of the l1 s1 levels see surgery for lower back pain there are two general types of lumbar spine surgery that comprise the most common surgical procedures for the lower back lumbar decompression the goal of a decompression surgery is usually to relieve pain caused by nerve root pinching . Lumbar decompression surgery is often used to treat spinal stenosis narrowing of a section of the spinal column which puts pressure on the nerves inside a slipped disc and sciatica where a damaged spinal disc presses down on an underlying nerve spinal injuries such as a fracture or the . Traditional lumbar surgery although effective is often associated with large incisions a long hospital stay and at times a prolonged recovery the introduction of minimally invasive spine surgery miss has allowed for similar effective resolution of a patients symptoms but with much smaller incisions faster recovery and the ability to have these surgeries performed in an outpatient . Lumbar spine surgery is used to relieve back pain resulting from various spinal conditions the goal of any lower back surgery is to alleviate pain stabilize the spine and restore function by removing pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves in most cases lumbar spine pain treatment begins with a series of nonsurgical treatments that attempt to relieve symptoms when these measures