Suggest Treatment For Annular Tears In Disc

Hi I am suffering from extreme pain from annular tears of tge L3 l4 L4_L5 L5_S1 disc with narrowing if the spinal canal. My surgeon has requested fusion and replacement. An IME stated this would not be vest and just pain management. As he felt surgery would cause stiff back syndrome. Is there an alternative surgery or is my surgeon right.