Objective?To explore the effects of Huayu Xiaotong decoction combined with small needle knife on pain and serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E2 (PEG2) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in patients with lumbar disc herniation. Methods?A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 114 patients with lumbar disc herniation admitted to Kunming Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from July 2018 to March 2019 were divided into the group A (57 cases) and the group B (57 cases) according to different treatment methods. Patients in the group A were treated with a small needle knife, and patients in the group B were treated with Huayu Xiaotong decoction on the basis of the group A. Patients in both groups received 1 course of treatment (4 weeks as 1 course) of treatment. The clinical effects of the two groups of patients after treatment were compared, the pain grading index (PRI), present pain intensity (PPI), visual analog pain scale (VAS) scores and serum TNF-α, PEG2 and IL-6 levels before and after treatment were compared. Results?After treatment, the total effective rate of patients in the group B were 89.47%, which was higher than 75.44% in the group A; after treatment, the PRI, PPI, VAS scores and serum TNF-α, PEG2 , IL-6 levels of the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the group B were lower than that of the group A (all P<0.05). Conclusion?Huayu Xiaotong decoction combined with small needle knife can effectively improve the clinical symptoms of patients with lumbar disc herniation, reduce the patient's pain, inhibit the body's inflammatory response, and improve the treatment effect.