L4-S1 disc herniation w/ sciatica. Anyone recover without surgery?
It’s been about a year and some change that I herniated my disc. For about 6-8 months my sciatica was awful.
I’ve gone through countless hours of PT and I had ‘completed’ it. I started to follow Dr. McGill’s Big 3 exercises.
These allowed me to remove a decent amount of the sciatic pain, however certain movements still aggravate it. I also still feel a decent amount of pain when sitting/lying down too long or first thing in the morning. The pain at this point is mostly localized to the lower back, but can feel it go down to my hip and butt sometimes.
I’ve had an MRI and so far two doctors have recommend a microdiscectomy. I am VERY against surgery though, especially on my back.
I also have significant neural tension in my legs, to the point where I can’t bend over and put my hands past my knees. Or cannot straighten my legs out completely.
I’ve stopped riding bikes, rock climbing, doing almost ANY leg exercises (I can do light lunges now).
My life has been significant altered by this injury and I’m hoping that I can get myself back to 100% without surgery.
Think it’s possible?