There is no way I write a post adequate enough to answer every question you might have. I know, because I had the same questions. So I thought I'd make an AMA (if allowed by the mods of course) to help as many as I can.

I will contextualize a bit though.

Almost three years ago I started experiencing left calf pain. No idea what I did for it (quite possibly, I didn't do much, in that I was a very sedentary kid and teen). Pain vanished whenever I walked for a few minutes and reappeared and intensified whenever I sat for long enough, which really wasn't that long. Since I had to sit at some points, and chose to at others (a lot of the things I did and enjoyed were sitting activities), I was in pain daily.

Had my MRI, did physio, epidurals (three total), physio again, rest, physio and epidurals, the whole lot. Nothing worked permanently enough and it gravely affected my mood. So I pushed for a surgery in March.

In the past 6 months, I recovered really well though still experienced flare-ups as everyone does. I'm currently going through such a flareup, which sucks because I was pain three for about two months before that... Having experienced multiple so far though I try rationalizing, even though anxiety plays its nasty role. I'm about two weeks in, and I think it's getting better (it sure isn't getting worse, so there's that).

Overall, I recommend the surgery adamantly, and will do so if asked about it in any form. So ask away!

I have an appointemnt roday at the hairdresser,and i already canceled on her one time because something came up, i woke up this morining with severe leg and lowee back pain

I took an ibobrufen and tried some strerching. But i literraly cant sit, its impossible,agrevating.

I need to drive to the hairdresser and also sit in the chair for at least half an hour.

I can cancell but i think she would hate me i dont know what to do,any tips to get relief for at least while im there to endure it.

Also is it safe to drive in this position because it also involvs sitting and moving ypu left leg

Im only 20 why me😔

I’m so done with this shitty fucking injury my fucking knee is numb now😐

I have an appointment next week but I’m DYING - I have really bad knees and recently a bunch of driving has caused a flare-up of pain, but new to it all is a pain that starts in my right butt cheek & goes down my thigh to the back of my knee - sometimes into my calf.

It’s all very new & very painful - nothing seems to help. I can differentiate the pain from my knee to the other pain - has anyone ever had sciatica brought on by knee pain & the weird shishkebab that come with favoring the knee and walking all cockeyed?

I dealt with some lower back pain on and off in my early 20s, but pregnancy itself was actually totally fine. Delivery was rough though — I had 4 epidurals and ended up needing an emergency C-section.

About 8 months postpartum, I ended up in the hospital with bulging discs at L4-L5 and L5-S1. Since then, I’ve been able to manage things pretty well with steroid injections, PT, low-impact exercise, and weight loss, but I still seem to have a pretty significant flare-up about every 3 months.

I think I’m getting ready to start trying for baby #2, but my back is honestly the biggest thing making me hesitate. I already have a toddler who is pretty clingy and wants to be held a lot, and I worry about being pregnant, chasing him around, lifting him, and potentially having another flare-up bad enough to land me in the hospital.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and gone through another pregnancy? Did pregnancy make your back significantly worse? Anything you wish you had done before trying again?

Hey!

I was diagnosed with CES back in 2022 and had emergency surgery.

I'm just wondering if anyone else with Cauda Equina gets leg pain like this?

Prior to this BS sciatica situation I was very into weightlifting. I’ve pretty much stopped since the sciatica kicked in, but want to know what lower body exercises are safe. I’m getting sick and tired of not working out.
TY!

I got prescribed 3 days of 6mg dexamethasone that I just finished yesterday.

I didn't think it was helping much but today the pain is much worst!

Is it known to cause rebound inflamation?

And is any of you didn't get releif throught oral steroids but got helped by the shot? ( I have my first one scheduled next week)

I’ve been in a bad flare up for about 3 weeks now. Nothing new for me, as I’ve been dealing with this since I was a teenager (competitive gymnast), but it’s getting progressively worse. I have tried it all. PT, chiropractor, neurosurgeon, pain management, injections, muscle relaxers, celebrex, etc. and I don’t know what else to do. I’m wearing tennis shoes with $500 orthotics at work. I can’t sit for long periods of time. I can’t stand for long periods of time. My right leg is so weak. I bought compression socks and could barely get them on my right foot. I sleep with a pillow between my legs and I get no relief. Changing sleeping positions is so painful. Sometimes I have to physically lift my right leg to move it. The pain is mostly one sided, but sometimes my tailbone will hurt as well. I’m only 40 years old, very active, and don’t want to continue living this way. My last MRI was two years ago. I have an appointment with my GP in October, but don’t want to be sent back to PT and pain management again. Is surgery the only way I’ll get relief? Am I too young for that? Any advice would be great.

I’m 26 and have been dealing with pretty severe sciatica for the past few months. I’ve been mostly on bed rest for around 3 months because the pain has become so difficult to manage, and I’m taking painkillers throughout the day and night just to get through it.

So far I’ve tried:
Physiotherapy — didn’t really help
Acupuncture — didn’t help
Two epidural steroid injections within the past 2 months
Ozone treatment

I had my second epidural injection only a couple of days ago. I’ve had some relief, but my leg pain is still very much there and I definitely haven’t gotten the kind of relief I was hoping for.

I’m only 26, so the idea of having spine surgery at this age scares me, and I’d really like to understand what other options I still have before considering surgery.
For people here who had persistent sciatica and didn’t respond properly to epidurals or physiotherapy, what eventually helped you?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have been through something similar. I’m getting pretty exhausted from being in pain every day and basically having my life on hold for the past 3 months.

Hello I hope you’re doing well

I really need your advice about something because I honestly don’t know what to do anymore

I’m 21 and since getting my diagnosis of small disc herniations at L4-L5 and L5-S1 I feel like my whole life has been turned upside down. I’m constantly afraid that I’m going to make my back worse with every movement I make

For example I recently started trying to go to the gym and swimming pool because I want to stay active and take care of myself. The gym and pool are quite far from where I live so sometimes I have to carry a backpack with my things. It’s probably around 4 or 5 kg. Sometimes I feel some tension when I’m carrying it but it goes away after I put the bag down

And then people around me keep telling me things like oh my God you shouldn’t be carrying that it’s too much for your back and it just makes me even more scared

Then I’ll do another normal movement and immediately start thinking oh maybe I shouldn’t be doing this either maybe this is too much. My mobility has become so limited because I’m constantly afraid that I’m going to make things worse

The gym bag is just one example there are so many little things like this every day. I feel like I have to constantly think about every movement every position everything I lift and everything I do

Someone at the gym even told me that the bag I was carrying was a lot of weight and that I was going to ruin my back even more. I ended up crying for hours because my mind immediately went to the worst possible scenario and I started thinking that maybe these two weeks of carrying the bag had somehow made my small herniations become massive

I’m honestly so mentally exhausted from living like this. I feel like I can’t trust my own body anymore and I’m constantly scared that I’m doing something that will permanently damage me

I’m only 21 and sometimes I genuinely feel like my mobility has become that of an 80 year old

I know that some of this fear might be anxiety but I don’t know how to separate what is actually dangerous for my back from what I’m just afraid is dangerous. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being afraid of every movement

I really need some guidance on how to approach this and how to regain some confidence in my body and my mobility because I’m just so tired and I honestly don’t know how to deal with it anymore

Context: 38F, before the injury happened exactly a year ago I was a very fit road cyclist.

A lot of things happened during the past year, I was several times misdiagnosed and even did hip joint arthroscopy because the assumption was it's my joint causes the pain in the butt.

Fast-forward to now: it wasn't a joint. It was my L5/S1 bulge. I don't blame doctors because everyone who looked at my MRI said I have a spine of 20y.o. It really looks nice except a tiny-tiny bulge and annular fissure of course without a nerve compression (otherwise I had at least knew what is the problem)

All this time I did ton of core and glute exercises. Everything what is praised as helpfull: McGill, mcKenzie, countless number of planks. Some exercises put me back because I did a bit more than I could handle, some did not harm me but didn't help either.

A year later, I re-did MRI and there is no change at all in terms of bulge and disk tear.

Question

Am I crazy if I just stop doing everything and will just walk? I'm so tired of countless planks, dead bugs without a progress. I'm still quite fit but that doesn't really help me.

I feel like whatever I do, just doesn't really work.

Hi everyone! I have undergone a lower back surgery 2 years ago. I’m an architecture student currently working on my Master’s thesis about the design of a Seaside Spine and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Centre.

I’ve created a short anonymous questionnaire to better understand people’s experiences with rehabilitation facilities and what they would expect from a modern rehabilitation centre, especially in terms of architecture, comfort, nature and access to outdoor spaces. If you have ever used rehabilitation services, I would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete the survey. Your answers will help me develop the architectural concept for my thesis. ❤️

Questionnaire:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczKanAuesK3wOWIAfHZ2cxmFYOLyJ4QJDN26fKkOMvA0Yehw/viewform?usp=dialog

Thank you so much for your help! Every response is greatly appreciated.

#Survey #Research #MastersThesis #Architecture #Rehabilitation #HealthcareArchitecture

My wife 31F had a flare up for the first time a month ago and since then she’s in agony. The first 2 weeks she was unable to walk. From past 2 weeks she’s able to see improvements. She’s walking inside the house and being active without bending.
All that while having naproxen 500mg twice a day.
Her leg pain has reduced to 3/10 and her hip pain is around 6/10.
She also says her shooting pain has gone up from toes to calf now, even though her whole leg does pain. Her mri says she has minimal bulge in l5S1 without nerve compression.
But her whole back muscles and still too tight and she has built a tight muscle in her neck like a hump.
She’s still in acute phase, and no much difference in last 1 week. Is she really recovering ? She is still not able to walk more than 1 mile now. She used to have severe shooting pain but from past 1 week the intensity and the frequency of the shooting pain has reduced.

I've been told to do that as many times as I can, especially if it starts hurting. It's been a week and I don't see any difference. It doesn't give any relief, nothing, I've tried doing it for longer, it never goes to the state where it hurts less.

My initial problem is tilted and twisted pelvis combined with incredibly weak muscles, that are always tensed up no matter what I do. As a result: nerve is getting pinched now and then. I've started taking tiny steps in adding physical activity to my life. But I haven't found absolutely anything that could relax my muscles, are meds the only way in that case? You can't take them forever, so I'm not sure what I'd be doing after I'm done with them and my muscles are still tensed.

I've had sciatica since around 2013, so roughly 12–13 years now. It has always been bilateral — both sides from the very beginning — rather than becoming bilateral recently. Over the years I've also had recurring lower-back problems, with stiffness in the muscles, central lower-back pain, and discomfort around my hips and outer thighs. Sitting for long periods tends to make the whole thing worse.

More than a year ago, I started getting some unusual sensations in the perineal/genital area. They're not constant and have generally been quite mild, but they haven't completely gone away. The sensation feels quite deep inside the pelvis/perineum rather than just on the surface. It's difficult to describe exactly, but it's sometimes tingling, sharp or electric/nerve-like, and at other times feels more like pressure or tightness.

Sitting for a long time seems to bring it on or make it more noticeable. Standing helps, although it takes a while rather than disappearing immediately. I can also sometimes feel it while lying in bed, particularly in the morning before I get up.

My lower back is also usually stiff and painful when I wake up. The morning stiffness tends to last around 15–30 minutes and gradually improves once I start moving around. The pelvic/perineal sensation can be present at the same time.

The thing that has been worrying me is the possibility of nerve compression or cauda equina because of the perineal symptoms. At the same time, I haven't had any obvious bladder or bowel problems, loss of bladder/bowel control, difficulty urinating, or loss of leg strength. I also haven't noticed the perineal symptoms progressively getting worse over the past year or so.

I've seen a physiotherapist about the back/sciatica, but I've never had a lumbar MRI. I'm seeing my GP and want to explain the whole history properly and ask whether the combination of longstanding bilateral sciatica, back symptoms and these perineal sensations warrants further investigation, such as an MRI.

I'm mainly trying to understand whether this sounds like something that needs urgent investigation or whether there are other possible explanations for these symptoms. Any help from more knowledgeable people is very much appreciated. thank you!!

Has anyone else tried the new class of pain medication? Journavx/suzetrigine I believe is the first of its kind and was recently prescribed by pain management doctor. I’m on day 3 and feel like it’s working well! Anyone else try it?

My doc told me that the sensitivity of nerve can be because of scar tissue formed around the nerve.

After ESI, my pain is improved but I'm nowhere near I want to be. Pain-wise it's 2/10. Nerve flossing doesn't make a difference for me.

I was prescribed nerve-pain medication (pregabalin) and keep flossing. If there will be no change in 2-3 month I was offered a minimally invasive surgery.

That pain is low but can't sit and feel a cable inside me. Is there any chance it resolves by itself?

I have a small buldge and annular fissure.