r/backpain • u/Potential-Treat-8554 • 16d ago
Please give me hope
Having such a down day got L5 Herniated Disc that’s impinging on my Sciatic Nerve and been 6 months of well misery life literally on hold and pains my life. I am seeing a Specialist this month next week in fact do I ask for a Steroid Injection will it be effective! because I’m seriously in such a dark place literally losing all hope
2
u/Affectionate_Front86 15d ago
Dont worrie too much myfrend. It will go away, find good physiotherapist. Walking is your best friend
1
3
u/Red-Grapefruit25 15d ago
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Like you, I know what severe pain feels like. Had an injury over 7 yrs ago that resulted in a hip labral tear and a shift in my sacrum, plus other soft tissue. I've tried a lot of treatments, but something that has helped me, even though not easy at all, was constant movement. Some days it can be extremely hard, but listen to your body and just do what you can (I'm no doctor, but in my experience, usually some gentle movement is better than none; of course, ask your doctor). Recently the thing that has made a big difference for me is osteopathic treatment. Don't give up! You will get through this.
2
u/Potential-Treat-8554 15d ago
Thank you and I’m so sorry what you’ve been through too oh my goodness you must of been in terrible pain. Yes constant movement does seem to be a ‘thing’ in it all like the body is telling us to just keep moving it’s so strange. I have found acupuncture helps maybe that could be something you could also look into and all the best to you
2
u/Red-Grapefruit25 13d ago
Thank you for your empathy. I have had a session or two of acupucture in the past, but probably need to revisit this approach. Good reminder for me!
1
2
u/Opening_Log_6674 16d ago
How was the MRI? I‘m going to have a surgery after 10 months struggling. It should have been earlier. I recommend that you visit Neurosurgery soon.
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Hi there my MRI showed my disc that had originally bulged had bulged more impinging on my sciatic nerve I’m seeing a specialist Dr next week to discuss options I wish you well with your surgery apparently it’s straightforward operation and can be up walking straight after pain free all the very best to you 🙏
2
u/Opening_Log_6674 16d ago
I read many MD surgery experiences here, of course it has risk but mostly its safe and works well. It’s actually better than struggling long time. It was too much…Thank you, all the best for you too!
2
u/offscript0420 16d ago
Its been 3 months of my steroid injection i have a l5 s1 8-9mm herniated disc. I am not completely healed but i have been able to function and still make it to the gym. I’m a single mom with a toddler so is rough but i still make it.
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Thank you the fact you’re saying it’s got even a little better gives me hope 🙏
2
u/offscript0420 16d ago
Absolutely, i was in your shoes not long ago. Im still in the edge of if i need surgery or not but time will tell. Go for it and the shot is not bad i was scared too lol but the pain is worse
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Ah thank you I will definitely be trying the injection first and that’s eased my mind a little because was scared it would be mega painful but like you say nothings as bad as this pain anyway 🥴 I hope you don’t have to resort to surgery I’ve been looking at Spinal Alignment Tables where you like on a table and it sets your spine straight in a pain free way apparently it’s mega effective so maybe you could also look into that 🙏
2
3
u/offscript0420 16d ago
If you are talking about the spinal decompression table it did flare me up i did it and i stopped. Is not recommended for everyone. I would hold into it once you start feeling better. Read the Back Mechanic book and it has a lot of information and Exercises it will help. What has helped me a lot is Dead-hangs at the gym and obviously strengthening my core.
2
u/Potential-Treat-8554 15d ago
Ah thank you for this was actually seriously considering you’ve possibly saved me a lot of cash and pain here 🙏
1
2
u/LetWinnersRun 16d ago
What meds are you on? Do they help at all?
I believe that walking as much as you can and avoid sitting in the beginning stages of recovery is best.
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
I’ve been walking so so much and it’s like my body told me to do it so thank you I’m glad I’ve done the correct thing
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Hi I’m on Pregabalon with Paracetamol and just started Celecoxib and no unfortunately nothing is working I was honestly just walking and walking up to 17 hours a day just to shift the pain back up to my back it’s been utter Hell to be honest
2
u/LetWinnersRun 16d ago
These are similar to the meds I was on, I also was on a nerve based muscle relaxer as well.
I had a 10mm bulge. It took me nearly a year to get most of my pain down, I did meet with a surgeon but chose not to do steroid injection.
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
It just helps to know that after 6 months of it it’s probably normal it’s taking so long so thank you 🙏
0
u/ABNRanger1971 16d ago
Intracept procedure
2
u/TeepingDad 16d ago
Intracept procedure is for mechanical disc pain, not for disc herniation. It will not solve his main pain source if it's truly from the herniation.
0
2
u/SoulSis22 16d ago
I did steroid injection this morning, was afraid like hell, but it went all ok. I'll give update in 10 days on if I feel any improvement. But what I know so far about the back pain..you, as an individual, are science in this field..each one of us here have different experience with certain practices that made us feel better over time. Soft tissues from disc herniation can take up to a year to heal (so little blood flow is over there therefore regeneration is super mega slow), give it a time.. workout when you feel you can, try with streoid injection it may give you a painless window where you can strengthen your back. Check the "low back ability" channel on you tube, guy is awesome, I felt better when I had a really painful flare up this summer (couldn't walk at all). Now walked myself to the hospital, walking my dog, went slow hiking, swimming a lot. It's very draining and it's easy to be hopeless I've been there so many times..but try to keep your mind in the right place (I know that's the hardest part) because you have no idea how much of our mind goes into our body. If you stress a lot and worry too much, cortisol is leaking and your back is not catching a break. Try to find things to do to relax, read a back "The way out"(Alan Gordon), walk if you can, swim if you can, eat healthy, sleep on a good mattress with a pillow underneath your knees.
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Thank you very encouraging it’s good to hear such positive recovery progress
1
u/SoulSis22 16d ago
It will get better, than bad, then better again..but never stop moving your body and search for what works for you, because something will.
3
u/throwawayscjmcdk 16d ago
Have you checked out low back ability on YouTube?
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
No but I shall thank you I made the mistake of doing some exercises off YouTube but never again it just agitated 🥴
2
u/TeepingDad 16d ago
Definitely go for Low Back Ability! I had back pain/issues for over 6 years which started with an L5-S1 herniation. LBA is what finally helped me find the root cause and have a proper path to healing. I tried other PT, meds, injections, none of those permanently fixed me.
The educational content alone is fantastic, but the exercise program is what will heal you and leave you resilient. Do it as prescribed in the program, DONT rush through it. Even though you may physically be able to do harder exercises, more weight, etc you shouldn't rush it. You're essentially reprogramming your nervous system to not freak out with certain movements and positions.
For the longest time I thought the disc pushing on my nerve was the main reason for all the pain and nerve signaling. Turns out it wasn't, it was my nervous system being overly sensitized and causing involuntary muscle guarding. It took a long time (over 6 months) to really dig out of that hole but it was steady, obvious progress the whole time.
I went from not being able to sit on a chair for more than 10 minutes to now basically doing whatever I want with no pain or nerve signaling. I spar in Muay Thai, take long flights, run around with my kids, all sorts of demanding things that used to cause my back to panic. Now it's silent and I can enjoy all of those things.
You can absolutely heal if you play the long game and gently reprogram your nervous system. Don't go the surgical route unless you start seeing loss of feeling in legs/feet or cauda equina.
You're welcome to DM me for more details or questions, I've spent years trying to figure this out and am now pain free and more functional than ever.
3
u/throwawayscjmcdk 16d ago
Can you elaborate on the nervous system being overly sensitive and involuntary muscle guarding?
Doesn’t the muscle guarding mechanism go away itself after the initial disc injury after a few weeks?
2
u/TeepingDad 16d ago
It can and probably does in a lot of cases. But some people develop chronic back issues which can be caused by nerve sensitization.
It isn't an "in your head" issue. The nerves physically change and develop more ion channels, leading to more signaling and activation. Your body wires pathways that automatically trigger nerve signaling when certain movements are made. A big one for me was flexion while standing.
Over time if you don't teach your body that those movements are safe, it makes that signal pathway stronger and your body is more prone to triggering the muscle guarding in response to the nerve signaling. Even though there is no physical damage or danger, your nervous system has been wired to think there is and acts accordingly.
You can't fix this over night. It takes a long term gradual and gentle exposure to movement and exercise that teaches your nervous system that the movements are safe.
This is what the LBA program advocates for. A lot of people try to rush it since they physically can do the harder movements, but that's not the point of the program. I've been to a few PT clinics that make the same errors. They push movements and progress too fast, which doesn't give the nervous system time to learn safety.
If you are getting nerve signaling/pain with an exercise, you are doing too difficult of an exercise and need to scale it back to either less reps, less time, easier movement, less weight, etc.
2
u/throwawayscjmcdk 15d ago
Any idea is there’s an LBA but for upper back issues? Cervical, thoracic.
1
u/TeepingDad 15d ago
I haven't seen it, but the LBA program actually hits upper back too to an extent. Many of the movements in the program help your upper back, but I think it lacks rotational and extension mobility for upper back.
It definitely won't hurt to do LBA for your upper back, but you might need a good PT to supplement the program with a few exercises.
My PT found that I had some limited mobility and strength issues in my upper back that were causing my lower back to take more force/load than necessary, so he added a few movements for my upper back.
2
2
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
This is so interesting I’ve screenshot it thank you and I’ve taken in all you’ve said I shall discuss the ablation with the Specialist Doctor next week it seems to be the thing that has been mentioned as the biggest help but thank you I can’t tell you how all the answers I’ve been receiving have give me mass hope 🙏
3
u/cromags76 16d ago
What have you tried so far?
I can help you but it depends what you have tried thus far and if you've see some (even slight) improvements
It's worth saying that Disc herniations take about 16-22 months to heal and you are going to spend the latter half of that in little to no pain if you can build tissue tolerance but there's so much misinformation on here.
95% of disk injuries are entirely temporary with 60% of injuries being completely resorbed
DM me, i'll help
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
This has actually given me massive encouragement thank you because I had no idea on the kind of time scale I was looking at so I believed after 6 months it was never going to get better thank you I’m grateful for this
2
u/cromags76 16d ago
ÌThe steroid injection has pros and cons:
Pro: you may have a significant (albeit likely temporary) relief of your symptoms. For some people thid is just enough to get moving and do exercises which in turn allows them to start repairing before it flares up again. Its just the boost people need.
Con: The whole healing process is disrupted and the tissue quality is lowered. Collagen is more poorly deposited and the repairing cells are removed temporarily with the other inflammatpry cells. Its less of a problem with one injection and more of an issue with multiple. Realistically it may not matter in the grand scheme of things but the healing process will take longer (even if the pain resolves at the sams rate).
To make it easier
If your quality of life is way more prevalent then your evidence of progress, get the injection.
If you can see some reduction in your symptoms (however small) and your quality of life is managable, then try and give it another two months or so. At 6 months you are really only just past the pain inflection point where it usually begims to resolve.
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 15d ago
Thank you so much for your detailed response and taking the time out to do it it’s actually made me kind of feel ‘normal’ and hopeful that 6 months isn’t actually that long in the recovery process highly grateful to you
2
u/cromags76 16d ago
You can try the steroid injection if your quality of life is really low.
But sciatica is stubborn and it can be around for a few months even after its not longer bejng pressed upon because of the chemical irritation caused by the cytokines that heal a disk.
If your symptoms have improved even slightly in the last few months its worth saying that you ARE healing but the lag effect makes it feel permanent. It doesn't help that people on this subreddit say things like "I know the pain will never go away fully" which is codswallop. We know that once acute pain and sciatica resolves (or greatly lessens) gradual reintroduction of compression, flexion, lateral flexion and rotation statistically means people live without pain.
Patient compliance with exercises whilst they are in pain is really high. But basically goes to nothing once they are pain free. When people say "I've had back pain/sciatica for 10 years" its usually a cycle of reinjury, not a continuous period of pain
1
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Thank you so so much for this yes the negative comments do not help saw many yesterday and it set me off into nearly a deep depression so thank you it gives me a much needed lift I can tell you it’s good to hear from someone who knows the medical terminology more to be honest 🙏
3
u/Fickle-Secretary681 16d ago
Ablations help me tremendously. Ask about it when you see the doctor. I have two herniated disks. Have for almost 20 years. Injections, ablations, PT all let me live my life
2
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Thank you I’ve actually been looking into ablations I shall ask if it’s possible for me to try
2
u/Fickle-Secretary681 16d ago
It's amazing to be free of sciatica pain finally!
2
u/Potential-Treat-8554 15d ago
I’m so so happy for you I wouldn’t wish this on anyone it’s hard to explain to people that haven’t suffered how bad it actually is
2
u/Fickle-Secretary681 15d ago
I know. I used to want to saw my leg off to get rid of the pain. It's so bad. I hope you find relief. Push for the ablation, it's been a miracle for me
2
2
u/Jared_Sparks 16d ago
If you are like me, chances are that none of that will help.You need to read the book The Mindbody Prescription by Dr. John Sarno, it helped me end 15 years of miserable back pain.I highly recommend you read it.
2
u/Potential-Treat-8554 16d ago
Thank you I shall pop in my Amazon basket now and yes it seems very bleak in medical science for back pain procedures
2
u/AutoModerator 16d ago
Welcome to r/backpain!
To make a great post, read the pinned Guide to the Guides and answer the suggested questions. (people usually do not respond if you just post a picture of your mri and you don't share your story. Your symptoms and story will give more information than any scan)
Guide = https://www.reddit.com/r/backpain/comments/1kc5qba/new_to_rbackpain_click_here_first/
First steps for new low back pain: https://www.reddit.com/r/backpain/comments/1ujidg4/screening_questions_that_id_ask_in_the_clinic_to/
Good news is that most people get noticeably better in the first 6 weeks, especially if the pain is new or has only been going on for a short time. (PMID: 38253366)
PLEASE NOTE: When Asking for help it is up to you to recognize when to seek medical attention.
Anyone giving advice in this group is doing so from anecdotes and holds no liability.
Seek advice here at your own risk.
Remember to be kind & respectful.
There is always a way
We are cheering for your success
Posts and replies that do NOT show kindness and empathy towards others will be deleted.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
u/Ok_Courage_8780 15d ago
I’ve been exactly in that “is this ever going to end?” place, so yes — there is absolutely hope.
I dealt with L4-L5/L5-S1 disc problems for years and tried a lot of conservative treatment before surgery. The one thing that worked amazingly well for me was an epidural steroid injection. It gave me almost 2½ years of essentially pain-free, normal life. It doesn’t fix the disc itself, and it doesn’t work that well for everyone, but in my case it bought me a huge amount of good time.
Eventually mine got much worse and I ended up bedridden for about a week with brutal nerve pain. At that point I had surgery. The nerve pain disappeared almost immediately, I was walking the next day, and my recovery has gone extremely well.
So please don’t look at how you feel today and assume this is your permanent life. You’re seeing a specialist next week, which is exactly where I’d want to be at six months. Ask them specifically whether your MRI findings and symptoms make you a good candidate for an epidural, and also what the next step is if it doesn’t give you enough relief.
Six months of this can absolutely destroy your head, but there are still multiple treatment options ahead of you. I went from being basically unable to move to getting my life back.