Herniated/Bulge Disc

[406flyfish]

After weeks of severe Lower back pain and sciatic running my leg, I reached out to a doctor. I just got my MRI results back stating it’s a L5-S1 protrusion. He recommended a epidural and continuous PT for the time being based off my age (30’s).

I’ve started PT twice a week. Continuing my daily sauna & stretching routine. Currently taking Gabipen and some other “natural” supplements to ease the pain. Just started acupuncture, a little too early to tell if it’s helping or not..

I’m at the point where I can sleep thought out the night. However, it’s still painful when I wake up in the morning and taking light walks through out the day.

Anyone else out there with a herniated or bulged disc with tips or advice?

 

[Ross]

7/18 severe extrusion in same area. The sciatic pain would never shut off and unless you have had that electric pain you have no idea. 5 weeks later had discectomy. Pain immediately gone after surgery. Had a couple of hiccups the first two years, currently no issues with it for 3 yrs. I’m 62 so good deal older. Biggest advise, be super diligent on posture, both sitting, standing and lifting. Work any and all muscles that support everything. When you can walk a lot, drop any extra weight around the torso, build more muscle on the posterior chain and work core. Lighter loads, more trips. Surgery to remove the extrusion and pressure on the nerve can be a life saver. Good luck it sucks.

Edit. I see below the comment on foot flop. Yes, that can be a Big issue. A friend waited too long to address his issue. Ended up with foot flop from extended time dealing with the nerve issue and it never resolved itself. Imagine trying to sidehill and you can’t get your foot to plant solidly and hold its position. This is where the discectomy may prevent this issue.

 

[handwerk]

I had same thing a couple years ago, I messed up and just dealt with the pain too long and ended up with concrete like leg and foot flop. I should have gone straight in for the discectomy. It's a bit better now that part of the disc has likely dried up and retracted a bit. Being self employed I missed a lot of work because of delaying. Take the issue seriously.

 

[TaperPin]

I had one that the doc said will probably recover, but no guarantees. I thought it was career ending and did light weight work for a year before it stopped bothering me. Hasn’t bothered me the decade since, but at least in my case it just took time.

 

[Bubblehide]

I have 2 collapsed and herniated discs. one in my low back, one in my neck. My typical treatment when one acts up is Toradol, a powerful short term anti-inflammatory, a steroid to help healing, and methocarbamol a muscle relaxer (it will knock you out, so limit the prescription, or only take before bed).

You need to stretch daily. You should stretch for about 20 to 30 minutes every morning and evening, with short 1 to 5 minute stretching sessions during the day. You need to build your core strength and endurance. Lastly, if you need to lose weight, do it; excess weight is a major factor in exacerbating disc issues.

 

[Yoder]

I'm surprised he didn't do a steroid injection. Maybe that's what he meant by epidural? My wife and I both had pretty good results from that. It wasn't fun. The one in my neck, he had to attempt a couple times to get the needle in place, since it was so inflamed. I was in a full sweat by the time he was done.

 

[BullsDeep]

In my 30s, have been dealing with this issue for the last 2 years.(bulging l4, stress fractured l5, degenerative disc disease and arthritis) Basically what everyone else has already said. Stretching and mobility. Ask your doctor or google search drx9000 and see if you can spend some time in one. It helped me but not cured. Also invest in a inversion table and use for 6-7 minutes 2 or 3 times a day. These are all things my doctor had me doing. Lastly, when mine gets real bad I take a steroid pack to reduce the inflammation and it really helps with the pain

 

[mtnbiker208]

going thru it right now. See a doc in a week.
the pain sucks.

 

[naked wombats]

I have 3 herniated disc's due to someone running a red light 2 years.

Stick with the PT, do the homework they give you. It will help.

Maybe look at your sleep setup as well.

I was struggling to sleep through the night until I went on vacation and ended up sleeping on a thin foam pad on plywood with what appeared to be the worst pillow ever made in a rented van. But after 2 nights of that setup, I suddenly wasn't in pain at night or in the morning. Made some immediate changes when I got home that truly improved my healing.