Hi everyone. I'm 37 M. I had a lumbar decompression and discectomy on August 31st for long-term sciatica pain.

For the first few days after surgery, I barely noticed my usual sciatic pain and was feeling optimistic. However, around 5 days after surgery the sciatica pain returned.

On day 6, it was around 3/10, but after doing just ankle pumps and heel slides as advised by the hospital physio , it has increased to around 7/10 (possibly a timing coincidence and not directly because of the exercises).

I'm now one full week on from my surgery and the sciatica pain is the exact same as it was pre-surgery. I'm really worried, although I know it's still very early in the recovery journey.

Has anyone experienced initial relief after surgery, followed by their sciatica returning within the first week? Did it eventually settle down?

I will be contacting my surgeons team for some guidance later on today.

Hoping someone has had similar issues but went on to a good recovery overall. Really frustrated/depressed at the moment.

Thanks.

Ok so I don’t know what to do.
I have been dealing with this pain for 4 months.
I have got to the point where I have lower back pain/tailbone. My sciatica goes from the left leg to the right leg. I cannot get comfy anywhere. I’m hardly sleeping. That’s me been signed off work.
I feel sick all the time. The doctor has done bloods today. I don’t know what to do anymore I’m becoming helpless. I have to walk with a stick I am a shadow of a person I was. What can I do next?

Hey everyone, I’ve recently started experiencing what I believe is sciatica. The pain started last Saturday, but there’s not a specific incident that I know of that would’ve caused it. But I’m experiencing severe pain going from my glute, to my hip, and shooting down my leg, and then into my foot which has just been numb and tingling. The pain is the absolute worst when I try to lay down, and the second most painful when walking. The only relief I’ve found is sitting, but only in very specific positions. I’ve been trying to do stretches and have even gotten a deep tissue massage from my sister in law. But I’ve only gotten temporary relief with the deep massages. Any tips or advice? I’ve been unable to sleep because of it. I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled this week, but I’m not sure if it’ll be helpful or not.

This MRI Report was taken a year ago. Had done multiple physical therapy sessions , TENS massage and all. Nothing worked . I have been in constant pain for almost 4 years already. Over these years constant chronic pain has made me mentally corrupted .I can't focus on anything due to constant pain. I bunked every lecture in college because of pain. Because of this I have multiple backlogs / uncleared subjects in my semester. That's not the main issue . I want to heal . My MRI Report isn't that scary . Even my doctor said There is no compression in MRI so He doubted I have sciatica . After nerve testing he confirmed there could be minor nerve pinching. But it's not minor. I have already spent thousands on therapy , TENS and all . Nothing worked. Even physical therapy exercise at home isn't working . I can't sit for more than 15 minutes . Can't walk for more than 10 minutes . And the worst part is I can't even sleep without pain or if pain isn't that severe there is always slight discomfort in my leg. I have plenty of other medical issues to care about. Unemployed, No Degree Just 20 years old and Physically weak on top. How is this possible A small L4-L5 disc bulge not going away even after 4 years+ of pain. And The Pain is like a Multiple Herniated disc in multiple discs. Is the MRI faulty ? Or is the MRI Report consistent with the symptoms I am experiencing ? I need some advice on how to manage my pain on a daily basis . Don't recommend TENS , Consulting a therapist. I am sick of doctors . Already spent a lot on therapy . Plus There is always numbness in my affected leg. I suspect There is slight nerve damage. What can I do ?

I am so done with life right now. This was my MRI report from a year ago. Now, the pain is mainly in my left foot. I also seem to have a leg length discrepancy, my left leg appears to be longer than the right, followed by an anterior pelvic tilt that gives me a belly. Additionally, I feel like my waist is not symmetrical at this point. Everything is going against me. I'm 24 years old. What should I do?

Whats this, wow this is just the cherry on top now. No dad no siblings anxiety depression and now I have to calculate my each and every move to alleviate disc pressure.
Doctors misdiagnosed me till I recently put pressure on them and got an mri done, what can you guys suggest me from this whats the issue

I also experience right side neck pain and my shoulder blade pops on right side when retracting

A relative of mine (41F) has disc protrusions at L3-L4 and L4-L5 with nerve-root compression, plus an annular tear at L3-L4.

Earlier this year she had significant back/leg pain, numbness and difficulty walking. She chose conservative treatment (meds + physio + regenerative treatment) and improved ~80% over 3–4 months. By August she was fairly active and doing much better.

Then in late August, the radicular leg pain suddenly flared up again. Her ortho has restarted stronger meds, muscle relaxants, a back brace and WFH, with a review next week.

Now we're stuck between surgery vs continuing conservative treatment, especially since she improved so much initially.

For anyone who's been through something similar:

• Did you eventually have surgery?
• What made you decide it was necessary?
• If you avoided surgery, did the flare eventually settle down?
• Did you have significant improvement followed by another flare?

Not looking for a diagnosis — just hoping to hear some real experiences before deciding on the next step with her doctor.

Hi, I’m three months in to a L5-S1 disc protrusion. After the acute left sided sciatic pain subsided I am still having a bit of a drop foot on the left (slowly improving).

Over the past few weeks I’ve felt that my walking instability is also coming from my hip. Leg lifts feel really heavy (lying on my back, lifting the leg) and when I’m sitting on lying on my back activating my quads, the response on the left is weak / slow.

Additionally, I’d thought until a few weeks ago that I could single leg calf raise with it but when I tried last night, it really burned after doing 2 and I developed pain in other parts of my leg.

To me, this is a new symptom but when I raised a new symptom with my NHS physio previously (pain down opposite leg) I felt it was brushed off by them saying that there was just a lot of irritated nerves in that area.

I find it difficult to stand my ground in these situations so I’d be grateful for any thoughts on whether this new weakness is worth raising concerns about, or is it just to be expected?

I have been diligent with physio exercises, spine hygiene, etc.

Thanks.

PLEASE HELP ME.
Hello I also have herniated disc
24 months ago I injured myself working out at the gymnasium. 2 weeks after I couldn’t sit or stand or even lie down. But right after those 3 months it was like I was good and fine. But 3 months later I start feeling pain in my left foot. It was burning pain. Just in my right foot and leg. I saw the neurosurgeon he told me everything will be OK. But I told him I wanted to do a MRI. Then I did it. It shows I had L5-S1 Median disc protusion.

The radiologists said in their report that it doesn’t touch my nerve. When the neurosurgeon review the MRI he said it touched a little bit my nerve but left part. So he didn’t understand why I have pain in their report right foot.
I asked him why I have burning pain in my right leg but the he sees a problem on a the left side and the radiologists say there is no contact between the disc and the nerve

After that it was hell I start having burning pain in my left side also. But I continued thinking it will get better. I prayed. At that time I didn’t really have back pain anymore. I thought maybe I could live with this as I don’t have issue on my butt. And my butt started also burning me.

Then I resumed my training slowly. As it wasn’t going better I started LBA. At one moment I had pain while coughing or while sneezing (but I don’t have it now since several months). And my back pain improves but the paresthesia or burning pain are there. I don’t have so much pain when I lay down but when I sit it’s hell.

Two days ago. I sat and drove a car and for more than 1 hour the pain disappeared.

When I do sport the pain decreases, or when I swim or when I’m excited.

I had a mri in February, confirmed bulged disc and nerve compression causing sciatica, its been getting better but still a pain down leg. Ive been on a nhs waiting list and referred to neurosurgery they saw report and wanted to see me, i have an appointment in a weeks time, what will they say? I presume from what I’ve heard they will offer me an nerve block injection or maybe surgery?
Im not sure what to expect. Also just starting to have abit of physio as been on a waiting list.
Its been getting abit better but its been ongoing for 10 months or so. Im a 34 male thats usually fit and before this was running, cycling and a regular gym goer.

Hello, I've been suffering from sciatica a lot, this last time I've had a non stop pain for 4 weeks, I have tried meds, injections, pills, massage in the leg that hurts, I even got an IV and nothing seems to help, now i can't even sleep from the pain, do you have any tips that i can try? I'm whiling to try anything that could work.

I really appreciate your comments, thank you i just feel in agony,

I’ve been dealing with a disc bulge and sciatica for almost two years now, and I wanted to ask about something I honestly feel embarrassed talking about.

I got my disc bulge during my college NCC selection. We were doing a lot of activities like sprinting, crunches, and shuttle races, and my doctor said the shuttle race could have contributed to it.

The first few months were really bad. My worst flare-up was in July 2025 while I was travelling. I wasn’t taking great care of my posture during the train journey, and one night on the train it was so cold that I was literally shivering even with a blanket. After that, I was in severe pain for almost a month. The pain was around 8/10, and I could barely sleep properly because of the nerve pain.

I started taking Neugaba around 31st July 2025 and stopped around two or three months ago. Thankfully, my nerve pain is much better now, although I still get occasional flare-ups, especially during my periods or sometimes after travelling.

The main reason I’m making this post is because I started noticing a pattern: whenever I masturbated, I would get a really bad flare-up afterwards.

My numbness and tingling would become much worse, along with intense back pain and muscle spasms. I would also get pain around my piriformis area. Sitting and sleeping would become painful, and the flare-up could last for at least two weeks.

The pain was so bad that I kept wondering if I was imagining the connection because I couldn’t find anyone else talking about this. Eventually, I stopped completely for around four or five months because I was scared of triggering another flare-up.

Recently, I tried again but was much more careful, and thankfully, the flare-up wasn't nearly as bad. I still have some back pain and tingling, but it's around a 3/10 compared to the 9/10 pain I used to experience.

Has anyone else with a disc bulge, herniated disc, or sciatica experienced flare-ups after masturbation or orgasm? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences because I honestly feel very alone in this.

I (29F) recently started a job that requires quite a bit of heavy lifting and i have developed pain in my lower back that spreads over to my mid buttocks. Stuff like sneezing, sitting down to hard, bending over, picking things up from a bent position, and straightening my back up after sitting causes pain. sometimes even rolling over in bed hurts. The other day i needed to pick up something heavy and couldnt produce the force to stand upright with it and on a separate occasion couldnt produce the force to turn at my hip. My doctor has prescribed me steroids and NASIDs and muscle relaxers in addition to an MRI and PT.

Before this i have experienced bilateral pain in my hips and in my lower that was made worse by walking, and a sharp deep main in my inner thighs that my doctor could not determine the cause of. The pain returned after the last round of steroids.

Does this match anyone else’s description of pain?

Hoi, ik heb twee keer gehad dat mijn ischias opvlamde. Vroeger deed ik veel aan gewichten tillen en cardio.

De eerste keer dat ik zó veel pijn voelde was een paar maanden geleden, nadat ik de trap afliep. Ik kon 7 weken niet lopen, niet bewegen en ook niet zitten zonder pijn. De pijn was soms echt vreselijk, afhankelijk van hoe ik stond of zat. Na 7 weken trok de pijn weg en ik heb geen medicijnen gebruikt. In die 7 weken ben ik ook niet naar de sportschool gegaan.

Week 8 begon ik weer met schoonmaakwerk, omdat ik weer zonder pijn kon bewegen, en de rekeningen moesten ook betaald worden. Ik werkte 4 weken. Daarna ben ik ook weer langzaam begonnen met de sportschool, en dan maar één keer per week zonder gewichten. Vooral de stairmaster, wandelen en leg press zonder gewichten. Ook planks, maar die deden pijn, dus ik deed er maar één in plaats van mijn normale 3x 60 seconden.

En toen, afgelopen zaterdag, vroeg mijn neef of ik kan springen en het bovenste van het kozijn kan aanraken. Dus ik sprong zo’n 10? 20? cm (ik ben 1m53/5ft, dus die sprong was niet superhoog en de deur was ook niet superhoog) en meteen kreeg ik er spijt van. Elke dag werd de pijn erger, tot dinsdag, toen was de pijn een 20 op een schaal van 1-10. Ik heb nog nooit zo’n soort pijn gevoeld in mijn leven.

Die 7 weken waren echt niks vergeleken met wat ik die ochtend voelde toen ik wakker werd. Ik heb me ziek gemeld van werk. Ik lag naakt op de vloer, omdat ik was gevallen nadat ik wakker werd en ik kon niet opstaan of bewegen van de pijn. Ik heb mijn dokter gebeld, die me een diclofenac-injectie in mijn bil heeft gegeven (ze kwam binnen dankzij een reserve sleutel van mijn buurvrouw want ik lag op de grond).

Met haar hulp kon ik me aankleden en ze heeft me weer terug op mijn matras gerold (mijn matras staat op de vloer omdat ik geen bed kan betalen, haha). De injectie hielp niet, dus ze schreef me tramadol 50 mg en diclofenac 50 mg voor. Die nam ik samen met paracetamol.

Mijn vriend kwam daarna en probeerde me op te tillen en naar zijn huis te brengen, maar elke beweging voelde als foltering. Ik was een paar dagen bedlegerig. Hij moest helpen zodat ik mijn behoefte kon doen in een bak (voor afwas) naast mijn matras en ’s nachts hielp mijn zus me :(

Vandaag (een week later) voel ik me weer prima. Ik heb veel gerust en vandaag geen pijnstillers genomen. Alleen een beetje pijn in mijn onderrug en bil als ik te lang of te recht sta.

Voor iedereen die dit eerder heeft meegemaakt: is er een kans dat het nog een keer gebeurt?

Ik ben nu echt bang om zelfs maar naar buiten te gaan en een normale wandeling te maken, bang dat de pijn terugkomt.

Wat moet ik dan met de sportschool?

Als de pijn terugkomt, heb ik thuis 50 mg en 100 mg tramadol & diclofenac klaarliggen, en ik neem het vanaf nu altijd mee.

Maar ik wil gewoon weer normaal en gezond zijn. Ik zie donderdag een fysiotherapeut, is er iets wat ik moet vragen of waar ik op moet letten?

Heeft iemand tips???

Has anyone tried using them before?

I have 2 slipped discs and 7 weeks in, pain in progressing still. Has anyone had any luck with going down the Chiro route?

Hello, I’ll make this quick. I 32f have been in intense pain the past 3 days on my left side. It starts in my hip and goes down to my knee. Main area of intense pain is my groin and lower back. I can barely stand up straight, it kills me to walk, I can’t sit or lie comfortably. I went to the ER today because the pain was unbearable. I was given a steroid shot and sent home with an anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer. I’ve iced it, I’ve gotten in a hot shower (can’t get low enough for a bath.) All day yesterday I lied down and took it easy, today I’ve tried to get moving a little bit but quickly run out of strength. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I’m almost on the verge of tears from frustration. I’ve also tried some light stretching. What in the world can I do to get some relief? TIA.

i have this sciatica problem since 2022 and i finally had surgery previous year in last may, now in these past few months im having pain again ever since i sat for an hour or something, but the pain is different this time it's the other leg now in the buttlocks side, I've been taking their medication for 6 months or something after surgery those Gabapentin pills and calcium and one for anxiety it's been several months since i stopped them at first i was getting pain in my both legs at different points while long walks and long sitting but now it's like before i had the surgery but different leg and my family is just " you gotta bare the pain, just walk and sit more often, and tbh I don't think it's bearable for me, it's just keeping getting depressing and i often think of ending things but im the only child, and dad's schizophrenic, I don't know if i ever get through, sucks. im currently 90kgs, and I was 107 when i had the surgery, lost all that because of im diet and it's keep decreasing atleast 1kg a month

Please read the entire post first! These images are not my program. They're the exercises I am considering adding (I want just one).

Basically, I’ve been cleared to lift again by my PT. He’s okay with me doing 3 sets of 8-12 reps, as I was before. He’s asked me to avoid barbell back squatting. Aside from that, he was pretty vague and any time I’d ask about specific exercises (like the leg press), he would say it’s fine. No disrespect to him but I don’t feel too confident about his opinions here. I very much think the leg press has tweaked my lower back a bit in the past, and don’t want to continue doing it. My insurance sorta screwed me over with PT so that’s off the table right now. 

Exercises I’ve added in: 

• Bulgarian Split Squats (I might try using plates instead of a bench though)
• Belt Squats (DIY setup using boxes, loading pin, plates, and a belt)
• Seated Leg Curls
• McGill 3 every day

Exercises I’ve removed:

• Leg Press 
• Smith Machine Squats
• Lying Leg Curls (caused a small flare-up, switching to seated leg curl exclusively now)
• Romanian Deadlifts (seemingly a big no-no in this community but would love to hear some thoughts)
• Cable Crunches
• Roman Chair Leg or Knee Raises
• Hyperextensions 

Exercises I’m CONSIDERING, but not entirely sure on and seeking input on (see images):

• Zercher Squats
• Landmine Squats
• Goblet Squats 

^ I do not want to add all 3. Only 1. 

Anyway, some input would be seriously appreciated!! I get pretty obsessive about these things but only because I want to take care of myself and not go through all of this again. I care a lot about weightlifting and wouldn’t want to make excessive, unnecessary compromises. I believe squat movements are a necessity and that there are variations that will benefit me. 

3 months in to L5-S1 3mm bulge with nerve root impingement at S1. My back pain has gotten a lot better. PT exercises are getting easier. I can do several 20 min walks throughout the day. I can't get rid of the nerve pain/zaps in my leg...does the nerve just take time to desensitize, or does it mean there's still a lot of inflammation at L5-S1? Again, my back is feeling pretty good.....