In one highlighted case, a woman's operation for a prolapsed disc was funded by a NHS trust, but carried out at a private hospital under an arrangement to cut waiting lists.
Long-term pressure on the lower back can lead to slipped or prolapsed discs, injuries that British drivers are becoming increasingly susceptible to.
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan revealed a prolapsed disc pressing on the sciatic nerve.
Julia, of York, who was looking forward to her first time as prima donna at the Theatre Royal, said she had been left immobile and frustrated after suffering a prolapsed disc.
Overall, 1% of people presenting with back pain in primary care have a neoplasm, 4% have compression fractures, and 1-3% have a prolapsed disc.
I suffer from two prolapsed discs and a prominent burr on my spine.
Montgomerie, seven times European number one, was diagnosed as having four prolapsed discs leaking fluid in his back earlier this year and, at one point, thought he might need surgery.
A herniated, slipped, or prolapsed disc causes this syndrome.