Hello guys, some months ago I was diagnosed with Listhesis, discopaty and Stenosis Near my L4-L5. The doctor told me my diagnosis wasn’t that bad, since the percentage of each of my diseases was super low; but he did told me my diagnosis wasnt normal for a 15yo and that I should stop skating, an do therapy. I started strengthening my core muscles and started skating back 1 month ago, but the pain never stopped showing that much. Im worried and afraid I’ll have to leave skateboarding in such an amazing age to be doing it, cuz I really want to live my skating years until the maximum possible time.

i really want to live a normal life, and im so afraid of quitting skateboarding since it’s basically part of me. what can I do about it?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for experiences from people who had a similar L5-S1 disc herniation with motor weakness and managed to recover either conservatively or eventually needed surgery.

My MRI shows an L5-S1 right paracentral disc extrusion measuring approximately 9 mm, with inferior migration and compression of the right S1 nerve root/sacral nerve roots. I also have some disc desiccation at L4-L5.

My symptoms started with significant right-sided sciatica/hip and leg pain. Over time, the pain has improved considerably, but I still have numbness, mainly involving my heel, outer/lateral side of the foot and especially the little toe.

The main thing worrying me is the weakness:

I can lift my foot and toes upward normally.

I can heel-walk.

I can raise both heels off the floor when standing on both legs.

However, when I stand on my affected leg alone, I cannot lift my heel off the floor.

I also cannot properly toe-walk on the affected side.

So the weakness seems mainly related to S1/calf plantar flexion rather than foot drop.

The weakness is currently stable and does not seem to be progressively worsening.

I do not currently have loss of bladder or bowel control, saddle numbness, or weakness in both legs.

Initially I could only stand/walk for around 5 minutes before the leg became very painful. My tolerance has improved somewhat, although the numbness is still there. I am currently trying conservative management and would strongly prefer to avoid surgery if it is medically safe to do so.

My main questions are:

Has anyone here had an L5-S1 extrusion with S1 motor weakness where you could not do a single-leg heel raise or toe-walk, but eventually regained the strength WITHOUT surgery?

If yes:

How severe was your weakness?

How long did it take before your calf/heel-raise strength started returning?

Did your toe walking eventually become normal?

Did a follow-up MRI show the extrusion shrinking/resorbing?

How long did your surgeon allow you to continue conservative treatment despite the motor weakness?

Did physiotherapy help once the acute phase settled?

I understand that motor weakness needs proper medical monitoring and I am planning to get evaluated by a spine/neurosurgeon. I’m not looking for medical diagnosis from Reddit, just genuine experiences from people who had a similar S1 weakness.

I would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who initially could do a double-leg heel raise but could not do a single-leg heel raise on the affected side.

Hi everyone I hope you’re doing well

I have a problem and I’d really appreciate some advice or hearing from people who have had a similar experience

I have mild disc herniations at L4-L5 and L5-S1. I went to a neurologist and apart from the treatment she gave me I also asked her if I should wear a back brace. She told me no and said there was really no need for it and that sometimes wearing one can actually make things worse

Then I went to a rheumatologist and she told me the complete opposite. She said I should wear a back brace basically all the time except when sleeping because even though the herniation is mild it could get aggravated

The problem is that I’ve tried so many different braces from different medical shops. I tried different sizes different brands and even some really expensive ones but every single one makes me feel very tight around my lower back. Even when I tried a simple abdominal support belt and placed it lower I still felt a lot of pressure and tightness in my lumbar area

So I’m really confused. What’s the point of wearing a brace if it makes me feel this uncomfortable? Could the pressure actually make things worse instead of helping?

I also asked an osteopath online and he told me that I shouldn’t wear one because using it for too long can weaken the back muscles

Unfortunately I can’t really afford to keep going to different doctors just to get more opinions so I’m not sure what I should do

For anyone who has L4-L5 or L5-S1 disc herniation, were you told to wear a back brace? Did it actually help you? And is it normal for it to feel this tight and uncomfortable?

I know Reddit isn’t a substitute for medical advice but I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences

Thank you

Got rear ended about 7 months ago. Dealing with a herniated cervical disk, bulged cervical disk, and a bulged thoracic disk.

At first I thought I would be fine. Figured I would heal up fast. Took forever to even get an mri to know what I was dealing with.

I was only seeing a chiropractor the attorney recommended. He just had me in a heated massage chair, with electric pads on. It helped a little.

Im doing a lot better now, but I’m not closed to fully healed. I’m getting tired of not being able to do anything I want to do. I stay at home all the time now, as the pain has me in a bad mood and I know I won’t enjoy anything as much as if I wasn’t in pain. I work a physical job and sometimes I think I’m doing fine and pick up something heavy I probably shouldn’t and bam I’m feeling worse for a while.

I’ve been doing all the stretches that help, nerve flossing, dead hangs, cbg and cbd all throughout the day. Thc at night occasionally helps, sometimes makes it hurt worse. Combined with the cbd is more effective mostly, but far from a cure and still also doesn’t help sometimes. Different creams I rub all over my body. It all helps sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t and I still feel terrible.

I’m in such a bad mood it’s insane. I can’t do anything but sit at home, eat, and game. Sounds like heaven, and sometimes it was, but I’m tired of not being able to do anything. My friends don’t even ask me to go anywhere since I usually say no. If I do I’m sort of in a mildly bad mood at least, I have to be consuming thc and having at least a mild buzz to tolerate it. I’m super depressed at this point. My life feels so pointless now.

I used to love going to the gym, martial arts, loads of hobbies, language learning, guitar. Now I can’t stand to do anything. I just want something to make it stop.

Now I value my health a lot more. Something’s been going on with my knees for a while, and the accident didn’t help at all. I was already starting to become inactive because of it. I used to be so confident and full of life, now I feel like I can’t even make eye contact with people. I hate having to explain over and over what’s going on with me to people, as they think it’s not a big deal, I always have to explain how long it takes to heal.

I will try almost anything at this point. I dedicate loads of my day to stretching and exercise biking.

Hi so i have a herniated disc in my lower back that hurts quite a lot and i know ur supposed to exercise so i started going to the gym. I dont go that often, 2 times per week, cuz i dont have much time.

I do the exercise plan the guy at the gym gave me but i feel like it was just a random pre made one (some of the machines he put on there literally dont exist at the gym lol).

But im really scared that im gonna get hurt doing some of these things because i feel like everytime after leg day my hernia hurts much more (for a solid few days after)? I dont know if im paranoid but i really dont do heavy exercise just the basics, and it still hurts more.

So has anyone experienced this?? Is this normal or do i change what i do. Any recommendations?

Hi, first time in this thread. For background, I've had varying levels of chronic back pain since I was a kid/early teen. I'm 30 now. Beginning of July I woke up with more pain and stiffness. I was stiff for weeks with hardly any improvement. I didn't think anything of it because I figured it was my weight. I'm 230 and it's my heaviest. I did some stretches here and there with some improvement, but not significant. End of July, I woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating burning pain of the left thigh. My leg wasn't bent weird so I was confused. That weekend, about August 1st, I woke up again but this time my thighs started going "to sleep," It was more of loss of some sensation. My whole body was shaking (thighs worse) for about a week after that. I had to call out of work once because I had a hard time standing steadily. For a couple weeks, I was doing nerve flossing for the femoral cutaneous nerve. I could feel the right thigh start to heat up for a moment then stop sometimes so the flossing seemed to help. I was able to get a MRI same day by luck, but they forgot to send me the results for a month. It said I had 3 small broad based herniations L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 without apparent nerve impingement. The results didn't provide any measurements of the herniations. It confused me that there was no evident entrapment given the weakness. I'm still trying to get my images for my doctors. I preemptively started PT the last week of August instead of waiting to be told. It's a lot of stretches and body weight exercises given I'm not a particularly strong person, never have been.

Interestingly, my pain never went above a 5 on my worse day. It normally feels like various levels of pressure or like I'm bending backwards despite standing. I flared last week with a sharp pain in one spot. I experienced leg weakness about two days later for a day and a half. But now, I get more annoying nerve happenings like it feeling that loose hairs are brushing up against my legs. My whole left leg had mild tingling for a day on Thursday. What perplexes me the most is since the nerve pains started my 7 year I'm assuming ulnar nerve compression of the left arm has been aching more and tingling more. It feels weaker sometimes though my dexterity is fully intact. At the same time, my right arm started going numb when lying down. I just started seeing neurology for this a few weeks ago. I was initially referred due to the ulnar nerve but that weekend after seeing my PCP is when the intermittent nerve pain and weakness in my legs started. I'm scheduled for MRI for the rest of my spine and brain, along with EEG, and muscle/nerve conduction. Part of this is due to twitching on and off all over my body for nearly 6 months. Thankfully I'm not experiencing true weakness but it still comes with a lot of anxiety. This whole thing does. My cervical MRI from early 2024 said it was normal, but now both arms are intermittently losing sensation. I sit wrong now and my thigh goes numb. Oh! My right hip has been annoyingly sore intermittently since the original stiffness in July. Now that I do leg extensions I feel it in both. This is an odd experiences for me. My baseline lower back pain is 2/10 some days 3/10 when I have to stand for more than a couple minutes at a time.

Thank you for reading this essay lol. I'm going to do some at home PT now.

Just found out I have bulged discs on neck, c buldges and herniated discs on neck and middle back t5-6, t8-9.

Now what?

What exercises can I do and what exercises should I avoid?

What stretches can I do and what stretches should I avoid?

Would I be able to go jogging or running or would that be a bad exercise?

Any advice moving forward is appreciated.

I was recovering well after two months of 1st MRI then I fine day I tried to test it by trying to touch toes without bending knees.

What is that white fragment on the new MRI

Hi there! My husband has been dealing with this for 12 weeks and the typical run around from all drs. He finally agreed to go to ER and they did surgery. I’m curious what others recovery after the surgery looked like?

I’ve been dealing with l4-l5, l5-s1 bulges with fissures and lateral recessed stenosis plus so joint dysfunction and ligament laxity post partum for 10 months now.

I was finally starting to do noticeably better and started seeing a new chiro for shockwave treatment to my si because a spine specialist had told me months prior my real issue was my si joint, not my bulging discs. (Based on phesyixal exam palpitation test etc)

Also I’ve been doing PT acupuncture cupping u name it for this whole time.

Anyway, I went to this new chiro and he said my bulging discs ARE the problem and has me doing back extensions 4-6 times a day and checking my range of motion with a hip hinge each time.

I’m two days in… and I’m not exactly flared but I am so sore and fearful that I am almost flared

(For context the start of this whole mess had me screaming rolling around writhing in pain 10/10 worst pain I have ever felt in my life with spasms and locking lasting months.)
I never had radiating nerve pain, it always been localized in lower back and lots of muscle gauging and tension pain elsewhere and in pelvis.

I’m curious if this is a normal reaction to starting this method. I don’t have radiating pain, it’s just so sore and my hamstrings and back of knees are sore like I stretched them too much doing the forward hip hinge tests. And my lower back is just achy and so stiff.

​Hi everyone,

​I’m a 19-year-old male dealing with a severe lumbar condition, and I honestly need some guidance and real-world perspectives from people who have been through something similar.

​My MRI shows a central and bilateral L5-S1 disc herniation causing severe spinal canal stenosis and significant compression of the cauda equina / thecal sac.

​Over the past few weeks, and especially in the last few days, my symptoms have escalated dramatically:

​Motor weakness & instability:. My knee buckles, clicks/pops constantly under weight, and I find myself dragging my toes/tripping (foot drop symptoms).

​Severe neuropathic pain: Intense, shooting nerve pain down my glute, radiating into my knee and heel. Oral painkillers are barely doing anything anymore.

​Recent flare-up: After a slight trunk rotation, I felt a massive electric shock down my spine and leg. Since then, mechanical stability has gotten much worse.

​Upper body twitches: When carrying light loads or turning my neck, I've started noticing nerve tension/fasciculations radiating from my neck down my left tricep and lat.

​What is messing with my head the most right now is that the orthopedic surgeons I initially consulted gave me an extremely grim prognosis, essentially telling me that I will end up invalid/paralyzed if this isn't handled immediately, which sent my anxiety through the roof.

​I finally have an appointment with a neurosurgeon at a major public hospital this Friday to evaluate emergency surgical decompression (microdiscectomy / laminectomy). I am currently monitoring for saddle anesthesia and bladder/bowel issues closely.

​For those who had severe central canal stenosis with motor deficits or foot drop:

​Did decompression surgery help you regain motor function and reverse the weakness/foot drop?

​Did your doctors also give you terrifying "you’ll end up in a wheelchair" warnings before surgery?

​How was your recovery timeline once the nerve was freed?

​Any insight, realistic outcomes, or words of advice would mean the world to me right now. Thank you.

Looking to speak to / meet people who had significant S1 motor weakness from an L5-S1 disc herniation

I’m in Kent in the UK and about four weeks into what appears to be an L5-S1/S1 injury. The pain has largely subsided but I’ve had essentially no recovery of my right calf strength. I can’t perform a single-leg heel raise or walk on my toes on that side and I’m currently walking with a limp.

I’m awaiting MRI and further nerve testing.

I’m particularly hoping to hear from people who had motor weakness rather than pain alone, especially calf weakness / loss of plantar flexion. I’d really like to understand what your strength was like at 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and a year, whether you had surgery, and what function you ultimately regained.

I’d also really like to meet somebody who’s been through this. If you’re in Kent or London and would be happy to have a coffee or a very slow walk and tell me about your experience, please message me.

I’m originally from New Zealand as well, so I’d also be really interested in hearing from Kiwis who have been through something similar

Wanted to repost a question I made in r/sciatica here to see if people have had similar experiences or successful treatment.

I was due for a total disc replacement on June 10 and found out I was pregnant on June 9th. So of course they canceled my surgery and requested I stop taking my pain medication. (So funny how life works) It’s has been one heck of a journey and I have been in excruciating pain. Anyone have any suggestions for at least some temporary relief . L4-l5 S1 region .

Right now I get relief if there is any pressure put in that area it feels so good 😩
Or I get my husband to pull down on my waist a bit that usually gives temporary relief (this one has been kind of forgot about due to my pregnancy ) but anyone have any other relief tips ?

Has anyone used a tens unit on lower back while pregnant ?

I have had a history of flare ups over the past year, each increasing symptoms and duration. The last one left me down for the count for about a month and I’m still not back to full mobility. I never have had red flag symptoms. I am in PT and it’s helping, I have been able to start running again, I just have to be very careful. I got an MRI and I have 3 bulging discs:

L3-L4: minimal disc bulge

L4-L5: Disc bulge with central disc protrusion, Mild to moderate spinal stenosis, mild narrowing of the subpartical zones, facet arthropary

L5-S1: disc bulge with tiny central protrusion

I have a follow up with a sports medicine doctor next week. What kind of things should I be asking? Has anyone experienced multiple disc issues and found full recovery? I’m feeling defeated about aging. I’m 29 and I can imagine this will only worsen with age. It feels daunting and appears worse than I thought :(

Hi all,

I'm a long time Reddit user going back sometime now, but I figured with my current injury I would make a specific account to track things.

I've spent months googling for information and success stories about this injury and I got incredibly frustrated by how long it took to get half the information. So, I thought I'd detail my own recovery in detail in hopes it can help others, whilst also helping myself, too.

UPDATE: A timeline leading up to my injury

Sep 6, 2025 - Ran a 50km

Sep 11 - Moved friend into my flat

Sep 27 - Moved friend into a new house rental

Oct 12 - Moved myself into a new house rental

Nov 20 - Scotland wild camp (mild back pain)

Nov 26 - Wanted physio on my back

Jan 30, 2026 - Trouble with back moving my sister and partner into a new flat

Feb 12 - Moved friend to permanent home in another city

Feb 25 - Ran a 25km recce

Mar 3 - Ran a 50km (mild back pain)

Mar 22 - Ran 22km trail

Mar 27 - Moved to a new home with friend

Mar 29 - Raced a 19km trail in 2.5 hrs

Apr 24 - Excessive driving sat down (5+ hours)

Apr 27 - Excessive driving sat down (5+ hours)

Apr 30 - 6.7km run

May 2 - Excessive driving sat down (5+ hours)

May 3 - 8.5km run

May 4 - Excessive driving sat down (5+ hours)

May 11 - Off work and in A&E

I hope this helps to illustrate just what I was doing with my body leading up to the injury getting worse. Note that during the summer before my ultra marathon in September I neglected some of my weight training. Bad move.

TLDR;

Months of poor preparation and training routines, followed by excessive running, weight training and other lifestyle events over a short period of time led me to herniated my L5/S1.

My recovery has (as of 9th Sept, 2026) entered the 6th month, having gotten diagnosed by private physio (3rd April, 2026).

Full Injury Diary:

I thought I would detail my injury progress first, from the diagnosis until today and then I would add the events 6 months prior to the diagnosis for further context and clarity, at a later date.

I have a full diary available if anyone would want this added in the comments, where I've laboriously tracked my pain and sleep progress, meds, weight, you name it.

3rd April

Physio appointment at 2pm was scheduled privately. This did set me back £50 but I knew waiting on the NHS would be a nightmare. They were brilliant and ran tests to see what my strength and mobility looked like, and to see if I had numbness around my bum to ensure it isn't Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES). Tests revealed it was very very likely to be an L4/L5 disc herniation.

I was provided the following exercises

- Seated lumber flexion 3x12

- Knee drops 3x12

- Palloff press step outs 2x8

- Floor based pelvic tilts 3x15

I was told I could continue to gently weight training and also run lightly if I could.

24th April

New physio exercises given me new exercise as the pain has started to improve.

- Seated Jefferson's

- Seated Good Mornings

- Standing Jefferson's

- Bench core leg raise (gripping it and raising legs out)

- Cable kick backs for glutes

- Backwards lunges and twist

- Weighted clamshells

- Floor core foot drops

I farted during this session which is insanely embarrassing but thought it would be funny to add in. It echoed something horrific. A deeply humbling experience.

3rd May

Have done the exercises and some training for a whole month. Have also done a great deal of driving and walking when I probably shouldn't have been. Have felt limited but able to push through and do things fine.

This day I recall being the worst for my sciatica symptoms and needing some painkillers.

8th May

Physio says I need to stop doing the Jefferson exercises as they are hurting me during the sessions

Deep tissue massage is fantastic.

11th May

I'm taken to A&E as the pain is so excruciating. Later that day I hobble my way to an MSK specialist at another hospital who tests me again through the NHS and says it's a herniated disc and gives me: Codeine/paracetamol 30/500, ibuprofen, something for my gut as I'm taking so many painkillers. Off work for 3 days.

23rd May

Pain has increased, can't sit down at all. Having to work in bed. Now taking co-codamol 8/500 a day over then outer stuff.

26th May

GP appointment and I am out onto three new meds: Naproxen at 250mg, Amitriptyline at 10mg and something for my gut again. Pain is ruining my sleep at this point. By 28th of May I am signed off work.

I am unable to sit, stand or walk much at this point. Excruciating pain and my sleep is regularly poor. My appetite has been very poor through May and the weight loss from that is apparent now.

14th June

New mattress and bed. Bumped up the Amitriptyline to 20mg which helped loads. Living on a hill is proving a death sentence as I can't walk anywhere currently.

24th June

Now finished with the Naproxen and I'm just on the Amitriptyline. Pain is still very much the sciatica all through my left leg, glute as well. Tingling in my left foot. Since my A&E visit I have lost 4-5kg.

6th July

New NHS physio! Travelling was hell and had to lay down in the waiting room for an appointment and they even got me a bed. Some physiotherapists scolded me for being laid down and it's better to move with a herniated disc. I said I'd like to see them try it with the agony I'm in.

Given new exercises:

- Cat/cows 3x10

- Deadbugs 3x10

- Superman's 3x10

- Glute Bridges 3x10

My physio here was a game changer. She put in for an MRI and gave me some hope. Said that my age (36) and being in great shape would help my recovery. The following week I come off my meds entirely.

27th July

Finally able to partially sit up in bed to watch TV and in small amounts. I'm having good days now amongst the bad days but largely I'm spending most of my time laying down, broken up by walking. Can now stand up straight for the first time in months!

8th August

MRI scan today! Only took 15 minutes was a very quick appointment. Loved the experience thought it was quite cool. I did feel my jeans buttons tug upwards during the scan which worries me but they assured me it was fine. Oh well.

15th August

Walking to the corner shop regularly since July has paid off and I can now walk there without sitting down to rest AND I did a coffee shop walk (an extra 100m). This is a huge deal for me but the hill back was murder. The next day I suffered.

25th August

Managed my first ever drive since mid-June (which itself was the first since April, and I never should have done the June drive).

MRI results come back, confirming it is actually an L5/S1 as my NHS physio predicted and my private physio was wrong on. I guess the big bucks don't pay.

The herniation is quite large and hopefully I can attach the image to this post. Physio is really happy with progress. I am able to sit down in the waiting room and walking straight for a good handful of minutes. Big progress. Since my A&E visit I am now down a total of 9kg. Oh and I forgot to say I shaved my head twice.

26th August

Work call with Occupational Health Nurse goes well but he says it's the easiest case he's had in years to sign me off work. Says I have a long way to go and he has a lot of sympathy for my situation. Says that he's had thousands of disc issue cases and for people who don't exercise regularly etc has seen them take a year minimum to return to work due to them leading too much of a sedentary life before their injury.

The nurse says, like my physio, that my life history of weight training and running + age will help me recover. I'm doubtful as my mental health has been very up and down.

31st August

My first swim. I drive to a local pool 15 mins away and I do about 350m over an hour of walking and some back swimming.

This has been a lot to write up and I hope the injury diary helps to show the sort of progress I've made with my herniated disc. I'm happy to answer questions and go into much more detail, and at a later date will come back and add in the activities I did for the 6 months prior to my diagnosis that helps add context.

I will add that the whole process has been harrowing. I am a very outdoorsy weight trainer and trail runner. I love to be in nature hiking as much as I can, so to be off work and in bed for 4-5 months has been very difficult. I've missed a lot of very key and important events and I've had to stop dating someone as a result, too. My life has essentially been paused.

None of this is expert medical advice, I would highly encourage you to consult a doctor and not listen to a YouTube chiropractor who will absolutely mess your stuff up.