What is the recommended pain killer for a herniated disk in the spine?

Anti-inflammatories: Generally, the majority of the pain in a herniated disc comes from the inflammatory process and thus anti-inflammatories such as Naproxen work well. If you also have nerve pain, drugs such as Neurontin (gabapentin) can help as well. Finally, muscle relaxers can help if you have a lot of spasms.

Time: Time is biggest healer for disc herniations -90% get better independent of what treatment given. Medication can range from over counter types to prescription anti inflammatories or steroids , neurontin/lyrica, elavil, Cymbalta (duloxetine) to some narcotic pain killers or a combination of these. Other treatments include: exercise, activity modification & lifestyle modifications like not smoking & weight loss.