Hi there everyone,
I'm new here and wanted to share my story. Just after Christmas, I turned what I suspect was a bulging disc in my lumbar spine into a herniated one when I shifted some heavy boxes in the garage. Up until this point, I didn't realise I had a bulging disc. I was seeing a physio for about three or four months and was on ibuprofen daily, functioning and living a normal life, sleeping through the night. I had some mild burning discomfort in my left calf muscle, but apart from that, I was absolutely fine. And I was getting better.
Then, after Christmas, it all went to hell. I woke up the next day in agony, which I now understand is sciatica. I went into the NHS local A&E because I felt like I couldn't feel my bottom or my bits. They had an emergency look at me and scanned me to make sure that it wasn't cauda equina syndrome. After the scan results came back, it transpired that I had what they described as a mild herniation at L4-L5, with a bulging disc in the disc above. The disc above wasn't pressing on any nerves, so it wasn't causing any issues. The herniation was pressing on, I think, my L5, which caused pain to go down from my left knee to my foot. The pain was pretty excruciating, and it took a toll on my daily life. I was prescribed stronger painkillers and given advice to rest and avoid any heavy lifting or strenuous activity.
For the first three months, I tried to stay active by walking every day, sometimes reaching up to twenty thousand steps. Otherwise, I was lying on the floor. Doing some physio. And taking a range of meds. However, I realised that despite my efforts, the pain and discomfort persisted. I decided to take a month off and focus on resting completely. Surprisingly, this seemed to help the disc heal more effectively.
After that month of rest, I began to reintroduce walking into my routine, starting with short, manageable walks. I did ten days of walking for ten minutes in the morning, ten minutes at lunchtime, and sometimes ten minutes in the evening if I felt up to it. While some days were better than others, the pain never became unbearable, just a persistent discomfort that wouldn't go away.
Recently, I decided to test myself by increasing my walking time to half an hour in the morning and half an hour at lunchtime. So far, I've managed to keep up with this routine for the last two days, and although it's not easy, I seem to be doing okay. However, I do have a bit of a limp and a slight foot drop on my left side, which worries me. And the sciatica is a little more than usual. But I can get it to calm again after some rest.
I'm reaching out to this community for advice, success stories, and any tips you might have for herniated disc recovery. How long did it take you to recover fully? What exercises or treatments helped you the most? Any advice on dealing with the discomfort and maintaining a positive mindset would be greatly appreciated.
I should share that I have seen much improvement since Christmas, and I’m having more good days than bad. Even enjoyed some pain-free days or mornings, although pain usually sets in again at some point. Which can be very disheartening. It is not a linear process.
I’ve noticed in the last week the pain has left my foot and is now mostly in my calf, and the type of pain is shifting all the time. Like lately, sharp jolts in the knee, hip and yesterday the glute! I’ve barely had any back pain throughout these last 19 weeks. But just lately, a kind of prickling there. Nothing major.
I am no longer on gabapentin, nor ibuprofen sadly. And using heat and ice when it gets too much. Saving paracetamol for night. I work for myself and have no dependents, so I can rest on the floor when I need to.
I still can’t sit on the sofa, or drive a car (brings on too much sciatic pain). But I am sleeping so much better (seven hours with some waking moments, caused by only being able to sleep on one side).
Reading Dr Stuart McGill’s Back Mechanic massively helped. I know how to lift stuff, move in bed, get out of bed.. all without pain!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences and suggestions. But I suspect this injury mostly relies on time to heal!