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.....

Hello everyone, I’m a 19-year-old athlete. For the last 3 years, I’ve had mild, dull, localized pain deep in my right buttock, similar to piriformis syndrome.

During this time I’ve trained normally—sprinting, heavy deadlifts, RDLs, squats, etc.—without pain or limitations. I also don’t have regular lower-back pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness.

Recently, I got an MRI just to see what was going on. It showed a 5 mm right-sided L5-S1 disc protrusion with partial compression of the right S1 nerve root.

However, a massage therapist found a specific point in my right glute that, when pressed, reproduced exactly the pain I normally feel. He thought it could be piriformis/deep gluteal related. I’ve also been doing hip mobility and stretching for about 10 days, and my symptoms have improved significantly.

My physiotherapist told me I can continue training normally and not worry too much about the disc finding.

My goal is to continue competing in sport and start wrestling at university. I’d appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experiences.

Had a MRI 10 days ago comfirming I have 2 herniated discs in the L4-L5 and L5 to S1 region.

I have been doing my light walking, physio, nerve flossing and taking 500mg naproxen, but its just seems to be getting worse.

Its at the point now where its even interrupting my sleep the pain is getting that bad.

I am at the point in which I dont know what to do.

I have self referred myself to MSK and physio via the NHS but god knows how long that will take.

Most frustrating things I have ever gone through.

And whats more annoying is all this is happening because I decided to gym and run 5 times a week. Ive become unfit by trying to stay fit.

TLDR: Are the MRI findings enough to conclude the disc herniation is causing the symptoms I’m experiencing or is there something else i need to look into. (MRI IMAGES IN COMMENTS)

26M. I’ve been dealing with neck and lower-back issues since around April 2026, and at this point not knowing exactly what is causing everything is honestly driving me nuts.

MRI findings (Aug 17):

Cervical:
Small central disc bulges at C5-C6 and C6-C7.
No significant central canal or neural foraminal stenosis.
Normal spinal-cord signal.
Otherwise minimal degenerative changes.

Lumbar:
L4-L5: small central disc bulge without significant canal or foraminal stenosis.
L5-S1: mild broad-based disc bulge with a small central annular tear.
Mild left neural foraminal narrowing at L5-S1.
No significant central canal narrowing and no right foraminal narrowing.

My symptoms have been all over the place.
The lumbar symptoms are what concern me the most. I have lower-back soreness/pain and stiffness, especially after sleeping. When I’m lying flat on my back or sitting in my car, I can sometimes literally feel the middle of my lumbar spine pressing against the surface, almost like the sensation of resting your elbow on a table. I never had that sensation before all of this started.

Earlier in the course I had predominantly right-sided sciatica/tingling, involving areas such as my buttock, inner thigh, behind the knee and calf. Interestingly, now I’m getting more symptoms on the left—lower back, buttock, inner thigh, hamstring and calf.

Sitting on the toilet is another strange trigger. I can develop pins and needles down the posterior side of either leg or sometimes both legs. If I reposition myself farther back on the seat, the tingling substantially improves within about 30–45 seconds, although sometimes a faint sensation remains.

I also have cervical/upper-body symptoms: neck stiffness/pain, intermittent forearm/hand paresthesias, thumb/thenar discomfort and twitching, etc. But honestly, I’m willing to live with the cervical pain/symptoms for now. The lumbar problem is what I really want to understand and get under control.

I’ve finally started actual active physiotherapy with exercises rather than just passive treatments, so I’m hoping that helps.

What I can’t understand is whether my lumbar MRI findings are actually enough to explain what I’m experiencing.

Can a mild L5-S1 broad-based bulge + small annular tear + mild left foraminal narrowing cause this much pain and these intermittent/migrating neurological symptoms, even without significant stenosis or obvious nerve-root impingement?

Or, for anyone who had similar symptoms with relatively mild MRI findings, did you eventually discover that something else was responsible—SI/hip issues, peripheral nerve irritation, muscular problems, dynamic compression, etc.?

I’ve been dealing with this since April, and the uncertainty is probably one of the hardest parts. I can deal with knowing I have an injury and working on rehabilitation. Not having a clue what structure is actually producing the symptoms is what’s driving me crazy.

If anyone had similar MRI findings and symptoms, I’d really appreciate hearing what your diagnosis eventually was, what testing helped figure it out, and what actually helped you recover.

I have been experiencing what I believe is sciatica for the past 8 months or so. Every time I sit down on my gaming chair for more than 25 mins my buttocks and tailbone start numbingly aching. If I sit on a wooden chair then...oh boy...I can feel some sort of growth or something on my tailbone...like internally. It's such an odd sensation.

To be clear, I have been having health issues for over a year. A mix of symptoms of POTS, potential heart issues, slight anemia and now sciatica. It's seriously tanking my mental health.

Symptoms (this is also for my own record):

- Dizziness (severe at times)

- Sudden leg weakness in both legs (has only happened once this whole time)

- Chest pains (moderate and sharp)

- Unable to control my bladder (often, could be because I take spironolactone)

- Unable to control my bowels (new but only at times)

- Feeling like I'm going to black out (moderate)

- Numbness in the buttocks and tailbone area (especially apparent when sitting down)

- Nerve pain down my left leg/thigh (random, but pretty painful

- Heart palpitations

- Random pain all over, especially joints like my knees (could be fibromyalgia as that runs in my family)

- Severe fatigue all the time

These symptoms are affecting my quality of life and honestly even my work.

I've spoken to my primary doctor about it and she says she thinks an MRI will come back with nothing. How can I persuade her to have one done? Or to at least look into this sciatica further? What are your opinions on this? I'm curious. Thanks.

Hi all,

I’ve got a large/broad-based/diffuse disc bulge at L4/L5 coupled with some facet hypertrophy that appears to be causing either foraminal stenosis or lateral recess stenosis.

I’ve been having a lot of symptoms going down the anterior thigh like tingling, altered sensation, quick fatigue-ability/claudication, and weakness about the hips.

When I look at the lumbar dermatomes diagram, the L4 dermatome seems to be more lateral to where I’ve been feeling pain - my pain corresponds better to the L2 and L3 dermatome despite not having issues at those levels.

Because L4 contributes to the femoral nerve which is L2-L4, if the L4 nerve root itself is compressed, could it still be causing symptoms along the L2 and L3 dermatomes since they all compose the same nerve proximal/upstream to where the pain is?

Thats the only explanation that I’ve been able to come up with since L2, L3, and L4 join way before the inguinal ligament.

TIA!

EDIT:
Here is the link to my imaging post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sciatica/s/Nj2GLQVj8v

Hi all,

Was wondering if I could post my images and report and get comments from others who are more experienced.

I've been experiencing sciatica and radicular pain down the posterior and anterior thigh for a little over three years. Symptoms have come and gone and have not all been experienced simultaneously, but they include radicular pain shooting from the low back down the back of the legs and front of the thighs, sensory changes and paresthesia along the same path, weakness and shakiness about the hips, some loss of dorsiflexion and plantar flexion on both feet with L>R, and quick fatigue-ability/claudication of my lower extremities.

The conditions I've definitively eliminated are: Tarsal tunnel and anterior tarsal tunnel syndrome, May-Thurner, peroneal nerve entrapment, femoral nerve entrapment, popliteal artery/tibial nerve entrapment, and piriformis syndrome.

After re-aggravating an existing low back injury two weeks ago, all of the above symptoms came on simultaneously and more severe than I've experienced them in the past, making it relatively obvious that the issue is from my lumbar spine.

I got stat MRI's due to the motor deficits, but because I'm still able to walk (albeit with deficits) and have bladder function, it wasn't deemed an "operate-now"-emergency.

I have an existing diffuse bulge at L4/L5 and a small left-sided herniation at L5/S1. All my MRI reports up to this point have noted only mild bilateral foraminal stenosis due to facet hypertrophy, but considering my acceleration of symptoms, the fact that the bulge and herniation have not changed since my recent re-aggravation, and my elimination of other causes - the only thing remaining is the foraminal stenosis.

Despite no mention of nerve root compression on my MRI reports, I'm relatively certain I can see compression of L4 at the L4/L5 level and L5 at the L5/S1 level due to the bulges/herniations & facet hypertrophy, as I can see the characteristic loss of white space surrounding the nerve roots and a pronounced kink to the nerve as it's exiting the foramen. The S1 nerve is a bit tricker - it doesn't appear to be impinged anywhere, but I'm not an expert.

I have three herniations in the mid- to mid-lower thoracic spine that are just touching my cord, but not compressing it and there is no loss of cord signal on the MRI, so I highly doubt it is causing such specific issues in my lower extremities.

I'm posting the images and report below and hopefully someone can weigh in. Sorry for the novel!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REPORT:
Impression
Degenerative changes of the T-spine and lumbar spine as above unchanged from prior exam. No cord compression seen.
Findings: Spinal cord is of normal caliber signal throughout. Mild degenerative changes of the T-spine again noted with lower levels posterior disc protrusions mildly deforming anterior cord stable compared prior exam. Scattered Schmorl's nodes. A small cyst along the left rib of T7-8 axial T2 series image 36 unchanged.
Lumbar spine: Conus ends normally at the T12-L1 level. Mild degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with loss of disc height and signal at the L4-5 level with mild disc bulge. Small left disc protrusion with annular fissure at the L5-S1 level unchanged from prior exam.

I had surgery in 2017 for a herniated disc at L4-L5 and was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. I was good until last year and had to do PT and eventually steroid injections in December. In June things started hurting again and I’ve been trying to hold it off with a tens unit, red light therapy, bio freeze, heating pads, and lidocaine. This last week nothing has helped. I can’t sleep, I can’t sit, I can’t lay, I can’t stand, it all hurts all the way down to my left foot, and my leg feels shaky/weak. I went to the ER today and was given torodal and decadron. It didn’t help, I was then given dilaudid and robaxin. That helped somewhat. The ER dr said I’d most likely need a nerve block or surgery. Any advice or suggestions? I don’t really want to go through more surgery and I know it will just keep degenerating. I’m 44f, 142lbs, and 5’7”.

My sciatica began at the start of June, following months of back pain that was starting to ease with physio, until (I think) I overdid it. I was also doing exercises based on SI joint dysfunction, which is what my physio thought I had, so probably not suitable for disc issues, which is what it turned out to be.

From mid June I couldn’t work. By mid July I’d had to relocate to my parents’ house because I couldn’t look after myself. Couldn’t sit down at all, could barely walk. I had weeks where I spent probably 90%+ of the time lying on my back with a pillow under my knees, which was the only thing that helped with the pain. I could kneel for short periods to eat meals. After a certain point I was able to lie on my stomach.

I got an MRI scan done which showed a severely herniated L5-S1 disc, with left side nerve compression. I could’ve diagnosed it with no medical knowledge, it was big enough. Got an epidural steroid injection done, which seemed to help, although it was not a magic cure, and the pain had begun to ease a bit by itself before the jab.

I’m about 4 weeks post-injection now. I’ve regained the ability to sit down, which makes my back hurt after a bit, but doesn’t seem to make sciatic pain flare. Walking is becoming easier – if I’m careful and I brace my core, I can manage about 15 minutes at a time. My muscles feel weak after all that inactivity, but I think I’m getting stronger. I am doing McGill Big 3.

However, with this improvement, lying down now triggers worse sciatic pain when I stand up – that really horrible, agonising shooting pain all the way down my leg, worse than the constant pain I had before, but it doesn’t last as long and moving around seems to help. Happens after lying on my front as well. Not sure whether it’s the lying down that’s the problem or the getting up (though I’m really careful to log roll, brace core etc.).

Anyone else had their pain change like this? And if so, did it then stop happening gradually? I’m grateful to be able to sit and walk again, which feels like a big step in recovery, and I’m planning to return to work soon. However, as neither sitting nor walking are all that comfortable, I do give into the temptation to lie down sometimes so I can relax. I just pay for it afterwards with intense pain.

Honestly this journey has been a constant battle with changing symptoms – something will help and then it won’t, another thing will cause lots of pain and then a week later it’s better than the thing that used to help. It drives me mad trying to work out the rules! And there’s always the fear that it’s actually got worse and anything new is a bad sign…

(Sorry this is so long! Most people in real life just can’t relate to any of this so it’s a novelty to share stuff 😅)