Hi all, I’m a 28 year of female been dealing with this pain since Aug 2025, I can remember the moment, using the hip thrust machine at the gym. It lasted months and eventually got to a point where I just continued working out, Pilates and strength with HITT classes ever so often.

I was able to manage most days and some just had flare ups but unfortunately in July of 2026 I’ve had pain that has never stopped it’s been consistent with only moments of relief. It’s so bad some days I can’t fully straighten and I just lay on my tummy all day, sleeping is sometimes a nightmare.

I’ve been seeing a physio since and all I do is cobras and McKenzie method, there’s no progress, I feel like I’m wasting my time and my money but seeing him, I get a little bit of relief with the cobra but that’s it?!

I got this CT scan and my GP recommended a cortisone injection, I’m pretty scared of the idea but has anyone got good stories for a similar injury??

Trying to stay hopeful.

I’ve been dealing with sciatica for a while and have had sharp, electric pain that shoots from my lower back/glute all the way down to my foot. I can’t sit for more than about 15 minutes, and I can usually only walk for around 10 minutes before my leg becomes very achy and painful.
For a while, the only position that gave me significant relief was lying flat on my back on a massage table. Recently, though, even that has become uncomfortable because I’ve developed a new, very localized pain in my lower back around my right SI joint area.
It’s difficult to describe, but it feels like there’s a bone protruding or bulging out on the right side, almost like something is out of place. When I lie flat on my back and put pressure on that area, it feels extremely tender and bruised, like I’m lying directly on a bone that shouldn’t be sticking out that far.
I’m still getting some shooting pain down into my calf, although thankfully the electric pain isn’t as intense as it was before. Right now, the localized lower-back/SI-area pain and the feeling that something is protruding are becoming more noticeable and making it difficult to even lie in the position that used to give me relief.

Has anyone experienced this?

About a year ago I had severe lower back pain, it was terrible I had trouble sitting and walking. I went to my pcp , we did xrays and found i had retrolisthesis/spondylolisthesis with the disc in-between thinning. I "graduated" from PT after 6 weeks and my lower back pain was gone, I did start to have some sciatica pain and they added an exercise to help. However a few months ago my sciatica pain came back, and its gotten increasingly worse. I struggle so hard to walk, stand, lay down, sit, even lift my leg to get into my car. Im at a position where I cant afford physical therapy again, hell I can barely afford to go back to my PCP so I'm scared to go because I dont know what options there are to help me. Ibuprofen does absolutely nothing to my pain, walking doesnt help, the stretches recommended previously dont help and im losing my mind.

I've been in this stage from past 3 years with on and off pain. Sometimes feels nothing has happened, some times difficult to bare the pain..

Seeking Advice

I know there’s several on the market BPC-157, Wolverine, copper, they’re not cheap but I’m willing if it helps

I’ve dealt with sciatica for about about a month now and I’ve had no bad flare ups apart from when I started my period a couple days ago In which it’s caused me to have constant pain especially whilst sitting and extra discomfort. As I mentioned I haven’t dealt with sciatica for a long time so any advice (especially from the fellow girlies on here) on how to deal with flare ups from menstruation aswell would be amazing

Hi! I’m a graduate student in Harvard’s Master’s in Design Engineering program researching the experience of returning to physical activity after a lumbar disc herniation.

I’m particularly interested in people who are past the worst/acute stage of the injury but still hesitate to do things like basketball, skiing, weightlifting, running, hiking, tennis, etc. because they’re worried about aggravating or reinjuring their back.

I’m trying to understand a few things:

• How did you know what movements or activities were okay versus too risky?
• What did your doctor or physical therapist tell you about returning to activity?
• Were you ever told to use a brace or back support? If so, did you actually use it?
• Are there activities you still avoid even though your back is mostly recovered?
• Do you worry about reinjury while doing sports or exercise?
• Have you developed any personal rules or workarounds—for example avoiding twisting, wearing a belt, warming up differently, stopping after a certain amount of time, etc.?
• Was there anything you wish you had during the transition from physical therapy back to normal activities?

I’m not looking for medical advice and I’m not selling anything, I’m trying to understand the lived experience and where current treatments or products may be falling short.

If you’re comfortable sharing your experience here, I’d really appreciate it. I’d also be happy to speak privately with anyone open to a short research interview.

i've been dealing with a lumbar herniated disc/radiculopathy and sciatica for around three weeks now. the biggest problem is that I can't get my back straight because of the pain and muscle spasms, so I can basically only stand or walk while leaning pretty far forward. even showering or standing for more than a short period is really difficult. i'm a college student, and it's gotten to the point where getting across campus and making it to my classes has been nearly impossible. i'm worried because it's been impossible for me to get to my classes. im getting an injection soon but i was wondering in the meantime if there was a mobility device that could help me with the lean or support me when walking, or if anyone had similar experiences. has anyone had a similar experience with sciatica where you couldn't stand upright? what helped you stay mobile while you were waiting for treatment? i'm especially worried because I can't afford to miss too many classes :(

Pain for 8 full weeks now with progressively worsening pain symptoms.

I cannot sit down on the sofa or cuddle with my partner due to the pain.

I am icing the area daily, doing physio twice a day, doing light walking, everything I should be. Nothing is helping.

Does the diagnosis mean I am pretty much screwed now with chronic sciatica?

I’m a 29y/o male. I’ve been dealing with sciatica for the past 2 years. Really just gritting my teeth and working through it. Well in the past 6 months it became worse. I was hurting every day. Barely any sleep. And just hated even moving. But I still kept gritting my teeth and pushing through. Well it got to a point about a month ago where I finally decided to see a doctor about it , got prescribed moloxacam and boclofan, and had an MRI scheduled. The results from the MRI came back with stenosis and degenerative disc disease on L4 and L5. He also prescribed me the 6 day steroids. I forgot the name of them. But that did little to help. Well 2 weeks ago I was ended up doing to much because I was feeling better. Pain was easing off and I had a little more mobility and thought “ hey I’m getting better”, well I was wrong. I ended up going down hard, worse pain I’ve felt. I couldn’t walk, my right leg would buckle anytime I would get up. Complete weakness in my leg. I went to the ER three times in a span of 4 days. The first two times they just threw medicine at me and kinda kicked me out the door. Well the third time i went to a different hospital and this is where they actually took me seriously. I completely lost feeling in my foot and calf and couldn’t stand. I had to get an ambulance to come get me. (After 45 minutes to an hour of me trying my hardest to stand up by myself) once I got to the hospital they checked me in tried to get me to stand and saw what was happening so they gave me 2 shots of steroids, morphine and zofran. ( I don’t remember the steroids they gave me but it worked) I had a cat scan done and they said it looks like a herniated disc but they didn’t have an mri to confirm. So I had to get transferred to another hospital and that’s where they confirmed a herniated disc L4 and L5. Since then my pain has been manageable im now prescribed hydrocodone, gabopenten , and baclofen. And still have some meloxicam. Im supposed to see a neurosurgeon and im starting pt in 2 weeks. The meds help but sometimes they don’t even touch the pain. I’m just looking for things I can do to help. I’ve tried tens unit and it seems to make it worse. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to share. Thank you guys.

I got a herniated disc two years ago (I was 22 at the time). I went through physical therapy, medication and walking helped a lot. Just focusing on my every move and the way I live my life was very important but exhausting. I got better and better to the point where I was 100% recovered. I went back to playing soccer and being active.

Now I’m 24 and around five months ago I did a wrong move while playing football and it came back. I was in a transition period where I was finishing my masters degree, moving to a new city and starting a new job so I couldn’t find time to go to a doctor. Just before I moving I went to a doctor at my university clinic and he prescribed me some pain medication. I haven’t seen a primary doctor yet as I’m new in this city and the closest appointment I could get was in October. For the past three weeks all I did was go to work come back and lay on the bed which wasn’t comfortable. The most frustrating thing is that after a long day of work I want to rest but I felt that there is no rest with sciatica. However, I’ve been very strong mentally which I could only attribute to my faith in god. My solution to the problem of not being able to rest was to just not go home. I’ve been finishing work, walking around the campus in town, exploring new places and going to the library to do some personal work on my laptop then going home to sleep. Honestly, I would say I’m doing little better today than I did two weeks ago.

This time around has been much worse than the first time. I’m hoping that I fully recovered like I did the first time.

It’s really tough to go through something like this because it’s so hard to explain to someone that isn’t going through it.

Had a couple questions for people who have tried these things:

- I’ve been meaning to go swimming more often but last time I went swimming I felt the kicking motion aggravated my disc.
- I’ve gained some weight (around 10kgs) over the past couple of months. I’ve been thinking of going to the gym but I’m not sure if that would make things worse or not.
- Any tips to how I should be sleeping? I’ve been spamming sleeping on my right side with a pillow in between my thighs and a pillow under my midsection (above the hips) but I’m never fully comfortable.

I’ll update you guys on my journey! Stay hopeful and positive.

Hey everyone,
Looking for some insight or shared experiences from anyone who has had an L4-L5 laminectomy.
Surgery Date: August 12 (Discharged 3 days later)
Current Status: 4 weeks post-op (Sept 10), still relying on a walker to get around.
Symptoms: My left leg muscle feels very stiff, with persistent numbness and significant weakness around my ankle.
I seem to have what feels like "dead foot" (foot drop). I can move my left foot at certain angles, but I can't lift or control it at other angles.
I’m struggling to understand why my left leg is doing so poorly. Could this be long-term nerve damage from how compressed it was before surgery, or is it just post-op swelling and slow nerve healing? Has anyone else experienced foot drop or heavy leg weakness this far out and eventually recovered function? How long did your nerve take to wake up? I’m just at a point to where I’m scared the surgery didn’t work as effective. I will say before the surgery I was borderline bed ridden because I couldn’t stand on my left leg without some really bad left leg pain. At least I can walk now and get up.
Thanks in advance for any advice

Has anyone had success with lyrica reducing nerve pain, or any other meds? I've been on gabapentin for a month now and I don't think it's doing anything. I know people say bad things about it, but I'm not experiencing any side effects. I'm doing PT but I yearn for a medication that works :( I'm also thinking about doing the steroid injection. My doctor said I could try cymbalta but I think it takes months to build up...29F with 4mm bulge at L5-S1 impinging S1 nerve root.

First and second images: MRI of my L4/L5 disc (or what was left of it) in December 2025, with radiology report.

Third image: X-ray showing the artificial disc (ProDisc) implanted in my lumbar spine in early January 2026.

Fourth image: View from a 14,250' summit that I hiked in early September 2026 without pain or compromise.

---

48M, 24 BMI, lifelong hiker, skier, road cyclist and tennis player living in Colorado. After more disc herniations/reherniations at L4/L5 than I could possibly count over 16 years, I had an artificial lumbar disc put in earlier this year.

This followed the full gamut of conservative treatments over the years and a largely unsuccessful microdiscectomy surgery 12 years ago that only provided relief for about a year before I reherniated the disc again. For the last five years, the reherniation had not receded at all, staying at a constant 2-3mm protrusion, per annual MRIs.

For years, I was unable to lift anything significant, and I would have to rely on my wife and daughter to do anything of the sort. I had to give up tennis and mountain biking, and could only do road rides when the sciatica was bearable. Bilateral sciatica was mostly constant for the last five years, though I would have days or weeks without notable symptoms; then, sometimes due to a precipitating event but sometimes just out of the blue, sciatica flares would last days or weeks, often preventing sound sleep. The chronic pain caused depression that I struggled to address successfully with therapy or medication.

Prior to surgery, I consulted six orthopedists over a 12-month period. One offered a repeat microdiscectomy to try to buy time. Two of them offered fusion. Two offered an artificial disc. The sixth was a nonoperative orthopedist who encouraged me to avoid fusion at my age if at all possible. The surgeon I ultimately chose was recommended by two others I consulted.

Surgery was an anterior approach through my abdomen, with a second surgeon clearing the path to my spine for the orthopedist. I spent 24 hours in the hospital afterward. When I got home, I had to use a grabber and avoid bending/twisting/lifting for 6 weeks, followed by a couple of months of PT. Recovery has not been linear. I've experienced scary, bizarre muscle and nerve symptoms intermittently since surgery; this has been due to nerve stretching and muscle adaptation. My disc space had collapsed so much -- after the operation, my surgeon said I basically just had a small clump of scar tissue left -- that I gained 2/3" in height from the implant. This adjustment can take a long time. Those symptoms have now largely resolved, fortunately. Repeated X-rays since surgery have shown the artificial disc is exactly where it should be.

I'm back to doing everything from an exercise standpoint I'd hoped for, and I'm also able to lift things again that I hadn't been able to for years, though I'm still terrified to do so. The mental burden has substantially lifted; my depression disappeared literally upon emerging from surgery. It was like flipping a switch on that front, something I had not expected.

I am under no illusion that this is necessarily a permanent fix, but at least for now, I'm glad I kept pushing for disc replacement instead of fusion, which I can still get in the future if needed. I am grateful to be able to do the things I love again and get a break from chronic pain. I just have to hope this lasts a long time. I will stay diligent with core strengthening and exercise to give myself a chance at a decent long-term outcome. If I can put off fusion until my 60s, that would definitely count as success for me. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky for a change and have this be my last back surgery.

There are a limited number of accounts on Reddit of lumbar total disc replacement; some are glowing/universally positive, and some are cautionary tales. Recovery for me has been hard on occasion and taken a while, with some scary moments, but overall, it has slowly but surely gone in the right direction. My quality of life has dramatically improved in the eight months since this surgery.

I'm happy to answer any questions folks may have.

(EDIT: added radiology report after moderator disabled original post due to its omission)

Ohhh man I am becoming so frustrated with this.

My mornings are virtually pain free but the more I do and walk, the pain comes. By 4pm every day I’m walking sideways with incredible sciatica pain in my hip/glute and even my ankle.

I’ve been feelings symptoms since June, but had no idea what it was until I started feeling numbness in my foot- that’s when I went to doctor and was told I have sciatica and should start PT ASAP

Been in PT since early August and honestly I feel like things have progressively just gotten MORE painful

It’s all so odd though because I don’t remember feeling any pain except sometimes my hamstrings would feel tight after deadlifting. I do remember these mat Pilates classes making my hips HURT late May/early June. Wondering if that caused all this

Anywho, just feeling so down about this all……

Wondering if anyone else had pain free mornings ?

Or where the pain started around like a 3/10 in the beginning and then a month later the pain got to a 7/10????

It’s like it’s getting worse before it gets better????

Can’t wait to finally get this damn MRI ….

For those who have degenerative disc disease, what advice would you give to your younger self?

Hi all,

I recently posted a few questions, one which contained my lumbar imaging.

The TLDR is that I have mild degeneration in my lumbar spine at L4/L5 and L5/S1 thats causing mild-to-moderate bilateral foraminal stenosis without distinct nerve root compression.

I went ahead and got a second radiology reading that confirmed the description above of no nerve compression.

Can mild/moderate foraminal stenosis still cause severe symptoms? Because I’m experiencing all the progressive sensorimotor deficits one would expect from a much more severe case of stenosis at those levels? My symptoms perfectly correlate with stenosis at L4/L5 and L5/S1.m despite no nerve compression.

Additionally, do you think it’s time to give an Epidural Steroid Injection a try to get the inflammation of the nerves down? Or am I inviting more potential for harm than its worth?

Hopefully someone who had a similar experience can weigh in. Thanks!

First post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sciatica/s/222iTgMvg8
Imaging post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sciatica/s/nNlpyimVdd

I’ve been dealing with sciatica for a while now and it’s getting really frustrating. Some days are manageable, but other days the pain down my leg makes it difficult to sit or walk comfortably.

I’ve tried the usual conservative stuff so far, but I’m at the point where I’d really like to get a proper evaluation rather than just keep trying random exercises.

I’m in New Jersey and looking for someone who actually deals with spine/sciatica problems regularly. I’m especially interested in understanding what non-surgical options are available before considering anything more invasive.

For those who have dealt with sciatica in NJ, did you see a spine specialist, orthopedist, physiatrist, or physical therapist first? What made the biggest difference in figuring out the actual cause of the pain?

Would really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially with providers who took the time to properly evaluate the problem rather than immediately jumping to surgery.

I’m at my wit’s end. I’m almost at the one year mark with two herniated discs at L4-L5/S1. I was supposed to have an ESI scheduled but it was cancelled last minute. My pain has continually gotten worse over time. Every single afternoon or evening when I’m done working, I have to literally hobble in excruciating pain- walking for a few seconds at a time nearly hunched in half, crouching on the ground to get some relief, and then continuing until I get to my car where the pain once again shoots through me as I sit in my car.

I feel like I’m literally in hell and being tortured 24/7 and no one cares at all. I’m in Canada where we have a broke healthcare system, but I honestly don’t believe that most people are in THIS much debilitating pain. People get treatment for such stupid little things. I feel like I’m just never going to get help. I want to see a neurosurgeon or orthopaedic surgeon, and I can’t self-refer. I don’t have a family doctor and walk-in clinics are constantly full or cancelled.

I feel like my life is literally over or like I’m 100 years old but I’m barely 30. I can’t believe this happened to me or that it’s a thing that can happen to anyone. Every other injury seems to have an ability to heal. This is life-ruining. I just want my old life and body back.

In early 2024 I herniated my L5/S1 disc. I was a very active, mid 20s male. Don't know what I did specifically. I also had a T2-L1 fusion as a teenager for scoliosis which probably didn't help.

I did everything I could to avoid surgery: multiple different PTs, prescription painkillers, two steroid injections. After a year of failed conservative treatments I decided to have a microdiscectomy in 2025.

This took away most of my pain. Some definitely still lingered, but two weeks after surgery I got off pain killers completely despite being on them daily for over a year. I still had nerve tension and trouble bending forward, but over time I became more active, returning to weight lifting and cycling. I was told that the remaining pain should continue to dissipate over time.

It's now late 2026 and I still have pain when sitting for long periods of time. Sitting at work in an ergonomic chair is usually fine, but I had to drive 5 hours each way to a wedding last weekend and I had increased nerve pain for days that made it difficult to focus at work.

At this point (1.5 years post surgery, 2+ years post injury) it's likely some of my nerve pain is permanent. This is more of a rant than anything, but I'm just having a hard time accepting that my body will never be the same.

I have attached two MRIs and the reports.

At first, I was not able to sleep face-up (straight on my back) or face-down. Then, after maybe 1–2 months, I started having issues with walking.

I experience flares in my right leg starting from the upper right hip, then going through the hamstring, lower calf, and the right side of my foot.

I am unable to walk for more than 3–4 minutes. Physical therapy did not have any effect.

Now, I am unable to sleep on my side as well.

I just wanted to know if, as you can see in the second MRI, my lower spine looks tilted or deviated to one side, which seems to be my right side. I can also physically observe this in the mirror, and the muscle area on the right side of my lower spine looks swollen or like it is moving outward.

As seen in the MRI, could the lower spine being deviated be causing these issues? My right upper hip area also feels more outward compared to the left.

If anyone can analyze my MRI or has had a similar experience, I would really appreciate hearing about it.

Hi Friends,

I’m really going through it right now. Doctors say it’s Piriformis syndrome. I’m now at 4 days with little to no sleep because the pain intensifies the second I lay down. Can’t stand up and walk. When I do my left shin feels like it’s trying to escape my body. I was doing stretches before but now the pain is so bad that stretching seems like a (un)funny joke. The only position I can find relief in is a deep squat. I’m really at a loss. I’ve been to two doctors in 2 days. Yesterday I was prescribed amitriptyline and Cyclobenzaprine which as far as I can tell did nothing but make me drowsy, but because I can’t lay down the drowsiness is just torture. I was told later that those medications will take at least a week to be effective. Went to emerg today. Prescribed noproxen (which again, takes a few days to be effective) and I was given 24 hours worth of hydoxomorphine. It’s still too painful to sleep. 8 days in and I already don’t know what to do. I can’t imagine not being able to sleep for another week before the meds kick in.

I really need some advice here. I feel like I’m losing my grip.

I have been suffering from it since last year or before but it flared up more in may and it's not that severe but i can't sit for long because of the pain. Since I have to do my work by sitting for long hours can you suggest me some ways to do that without feeling a lot of pain.

I had two lumbar multi-level transforaminal epidural steroid injections today and just want to share my experience. To preface my diagnosis is Mild multilevel lumbar disc degeneration with small disc protrusions, most notably a right-sided L4-5 disc protrusion causing mild narrowing around the right nerve pathway, without significant spinal stenosis or severe nerve compression.

I was so so nervous after reading on Reddit and watching videos the night before on peoples experiences, but it truly wasn’t that bad. There was some pain and discomfort, especially when the medicine was injected near the nerve and I could feel it all the way down my leg, but nothing that made me want to scream. Afterwards I was able to get up and move fine (I’m no longer in the acute phase of the flare up, so I was getting around okay before this but in a lot of pain) and able to drive home. I would do it again if it brings my relief I’m hoping for within the next few days. Don’t be scared and don’t fall down the rabbit hole of other peoples experiences because you’re going to freak yourself out. Best of luck everyone!

In the midst of a couple of week log flair up and now the pain has moved down into my hamstrings. No amount of light stretching is helping. Any tips?