No fun. How far down your leg does it radiate? What precipitated the problem?

I've had once years ago and it suqs.

What really helps the wife is stretching.....in particular the glutes, hamstrings and hips.

I do some pressure point therapy on her as well, mainly upper glutes (off to the side) lower back, hamstrings and top of the calf just where the soleus and gastrocnemius start.

Posture awareness important too, especially if you sit for extended periods.

Abdominal work helps to prevent the pelvis from "slumping" forward (which can exacerbate sciatic nerve irritation)

If you stand a lot.......spend money on good shoes.

Good luck.........percocet? ......wow

typically the pain stems from a nerve being pinched at the spine, commonly in the lumbar 4/5 section.

I had surgery 20 years ago because no amount of rest would have resulted in the disk receding as mine had torn through the membrane, but I recall being told that over 80% (maybe 98.2%) of bulging disks will recede eventually following x amount of bed rest.

I pretty much woke up with it on Saturday morning. I think I may have tweaked something on the elliptical machine. The pain radiates to my left calf and I look like a 90 year old lady when I'm driving 😞

Good luck with whatever path you take.

New Jersey. We have the medicinal weed here.

fortunately for me, my doc sent me to a neurosurgeon instead of an orthopedic guy. had L 4/5 removed (they leave some behind so little chance of spinal compression). Took care of the stenosis too. Played 4 rounds of mountain golf 4 months later and have never had any related problems since...though most people do not follow through with the easy back strengthening exercises post surgery.

The surgery gave me back my life.

I've had a pretty severe L4/L5 disk rupture before, at times in my life my left leg would go numb and the muscle atrophied and shrunk to half the size.

Chiropractors were a waste of time and money. Exercise, back and abdomen strengthening and stretching is what gets you back on your feet and functional.

Fusing two vertebrae has a downside of putting extra strain on the adjoining disks and may increase the chance of a rupture there.

you are absolutely correct if the disk is bulging or ruptured, but once herniated it will never go back, as in my case. The membrane is opened and the disk can not be contained. PT would have been fruitless and painful, possibly causing even more damage.

The op needs an MRI to determine the extent of the damage. Fusion was not part of my surgery 20 years ago, and I am pain free today.

Of course, being fortunate enough to live near Boston or San Fran hospitals, or anywhere comparable is an advantage. I was sent to a neuro guy because my doc (smart man) considered it a nerve damage issue.

The surgeon spent a lot of time with me questioning my motivation before agreeing to surgery. His concern was that most people do not follow through with therapy and are still in pain a year later and beyond. The post-surgery therapy is to strengthen the muscles that get cut in surgery or have been weakened before and/or after. If one is diligent following the program during recovery, it will be worth it. If one is unable to adhere to the plan, then he or she would be better served to research pain relief programs.

Same here. My GP originally sent to an Ortho who said I was having spasms. I told him he was an ass, hobbled out and called my GP. He sent me to a Nuerosurgeon. Best referral I ever got. Within days he did an epidural. It shrank the disk. About 6 months later I had another epidural. That lasted about a year. Then I made the mistake of carrying some buckets of cement. Three days later I went under the knife. That was about 15 years ago. He only snipped the disk, no fusion. For the most part I've been pain free. Just found out I have two bone spurs. They cause a little pain from time to time, but I manage without Rx pain Meds.

Ruptured/herniated discs are all the same thing. That's when you've got a nasty little bubble poking out from between your vertebrae and pushing up against random nerves.

I had a pretty nasty one, the MRI showed a large dark spot occluding whatever that white line that's behind your spine is. Anyway, if you don't do surgery and are successful with PT, that part of the disc which is pushed out just gets pinched off and reabsorbed into your body over time. Or becomes a cyst or whatever... 🙂

I have to disagree beyond semantics as there are three categories: bulging, ruptured, herniated. Ruptured is close to herniated but the membrane is still partially or mostly intact. if the membrane that holds in the spongy disks between vertebrae is torn open or herniated, the disk will never recede.

Good luck Bro. Being addicted to opiates is no way to go through life.