Herniated Disc….

Sorry to hear about your pain man... Maybe look into a Chiropractor and get an opinion. I dont know if its going to help, but worth a shot.

Im not exactly in any shape and I blew out my calf muscle a few months ago. Out of action for a week, and hobbled for about a month after. All while trying to push a roller off a trailer lol. Still feels stiff and still aches occasionally.

Listen to your doctors and dont be a hero.

I’m 12+ weeks in dealing with Sciatica pain through my right leg. It’s hell. MRI showed a mild disc bulge on my L5-S1 and small herniation.

I’ve been seeing a chiropractor regularly for adjustments and decompression.

Not sure if life will ever be “normal” again.

Surgery was a success. Dr Haas through USF Neurology did it. Absolutely awesome doctor and the guy is like 33 years old he just finished his residency last year.

Anyway they took a massive piece of the disc out that was all wrapped around my nerves. The pain and burning are gone I feel really good. The numbness in my foot and leg is still there. He said it might get better over time but there is a chance it will be permanent. Unbelievable but it is what it is. Surgery took about an hour. I still have a fair portion of the disc remaining so there is no need for a replacement or any further treatment at this time beside physical therapy which I will need anyway to re align the bulging discs I have still.

Here’s the piece of removed disc and the incision. There is NO WAY steroids or any kind of PT was going to fix this. This thing is massive.

Thank you again for all the support and well wishes. I’m on to my 8 week PT/Recovery







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JpL4K3 said:

I’m 12+ weeks in dealing with Sciatica pain through my right leg. It’s hell. MRI showed a mild disc bulge on my L5-S1 and small herniation.

I’ve been seeing a chiropractor regularly for adjustments and decompression.

Not sure if life will ever be “normal” again.

Click to expand...

Damn bro I am sorry to hear that. Stay with it. Bring a minor hernia from what everyone has told me they usually can be managed with exactly what your doing over period of time they will be able to basically get you back to normal


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Good luck. Stay positive. Prayers work. Keep on keepin' on!

Wow that's quite the chunk of disc. Happy you're feeling much better.

Holy cow that’s insane. Glad to see you are on the mend. 8 weeks will fly by and hopefully back on the job kicking ass. God bless brother.

You never want the 33 year old guy fresh out of residency. Trust me. But it sounds like the surgery worked. The numbness many times improves, but can take a long time.

CobraVenom01 said:

Thanks for all the well wishes guys. It’s been a very long day with minimal results. Surgery was postponed Till tomorrow. Neuro wanted to try steroids, prednisone and deca have done nothing so far. The pain is still absolutely insane and my left foot is completely numb, calf and ham are locked up, glute is on fire. Hopefully tomorrow brings relief.

I had no previous back Injuries that I’m aware of, with that said I have been on the fire department for 11 years so picking up 350lb patients and wearing 50+lbs of gear in fires certainly can’t be good for your back. I’ll update you guys as things progress.


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I saw you already had the surgery and I hope it works. In my case I opted for steroids injected directly into the spine via fluoroscopy which immediately reduced the swelling and in turn the pain, I also regained feeling I had lost in my right leg.

That coupled with pt and I’ve been able to stave off surgery. I am just careful now. Get well soon.

kirks5oh said:

You never want the 33 year old guy fresh out of residency. Trust me. But it sounds like the surgery worked. The numbness many times improves, but can take a long time.

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Does he even get a choice? I know you're in the field so maybe you can answer.

Damn, hell of a piece of bacon they pulled out plus they gave an extra butt hole. All jokes aside, I herniated 3 discs when I was 42. Have good days and bad. The pain sucks and limits activities but glad to see that the procedure worked.


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Wow! That really sucks. Sorry to hear about that. I hope you recover well!

Yes you have to be very careful with your back and exercise often to strengthen your core as Bruno mentioned. That is of key importance. Go watch Eddie Hall, Brian Shaw etc. train their midsections. They do good mornings with heavy weights.

There's lots of exercises that will help with the mid section and back muscles including hyper extensions, good mornings, reverse kicks on a bench, sit ups, planking etc. And good old stretching by touching your toes often.

I personally wish I focused more on training my core when I was younger. But thankfully my back is still ok. However I have had my fair share of sore back episodes over the years.

Adower said:

Does he even get a choice? I know you're in the field so maybe you can answer.

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Of course he gets a choice. This isn’t Russia, or Mexico.

You want someone who is 10-15 years into practice at a major, NON-TEACHING hospital.

Double. For emphasis

JpL4K3 said:

I’m 12+ weeks in dealing with Sciatica pain through my right leg. It’s hell. MRI showed a mild disc bulge on my L5-S1 and small herniation.

Click to expand...

I had the same, mild disc bulge, L5-S1. The pain would sometimes wake me up and i would lock up from the pain, pain was like an 8/10. I cant even take medicine for the pain because it would go away in 10 minutes.

But honestly what worked was hanging upside down on an inversion table. I've now installed a pull up bar in my backyard and got gravity boots. Sold the inversion table and hang upside down with the boots. I still sit all day long and even more worse now that I work from home. But hanging upside down and two 50lb dumbells really stretches your spine. Not for everyone tho, can start off with lighter weights. I actually plan to use an olympic bar with 35's on each side or maybe even 45 plates (135lb).

Recommend an inversion table for sure.

Annnd that pic is gross haha

But glad to hear the surgery went well and you are on the road to recovery! Please don't be as stubborn as before and use the road to recovery as recommended.

I have never experienced that. But I have pulled my back out multiple times(working on the car, vacuuming haha) where I usually sleep on the floor of my living room for a night or 2 because I cant move. I have had my head stuck to my shoulder when I was younger for a week, my hip out by an inch or more on one side compared to the other, nerves pinched, etc. But I have not been through what you have(btw 34 here). So holy crap man! Glad you finally went into the ER and got taken care of. Take the time and actually recover. If you dont it will only make it worse later on.

Just wanted to give you guys an update today is 3 weeks post OP. Back feels ****ing great. Zero pain. Incision is all healed up and just slightly tender to the touch. Left leg numbness is gone. Left foot was numb still, last week it felt like it was literally on fire burning like standing barefoot on a black top road in July. That pain has subsided and the foot is back to being 100% numb.

I have been walking on the treadmill for 1 hour a day and I’m on a strict diet to stay Lean. I have lost 27lbs in 4 weeks from not being able to lift weights. I have been body building for 13 years so not lifting has been the hardest part.

I go Monday for my follow up with the doctor. I’m hoping to be back to work light duty for 5 weeks and I’ll do physical therapy during that time.

Hoping to be back on full duty and weight lifting the first or second week of September.

As far as the surgeon I’m glad I went with him I have no regrets. USF/TGH is a fantastic hospital. If no one will use the new guys for surgery how do they ever get experience? The guy just completed a 7 year residency I’m willing to say he’s far sharper than many seasoned doctors. Fresh out of school and hungry.


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Glad you're happy with the results and on the way back to recovery. Dad had that when I was I kid and only time I've seen him damn near in tears just laying on the floor. Still has some numbness 20 years later in a couple toes on one foot but considering the alternative.

Glad you are getting better. Back pain is no joke!

Damn bro, I'm sorry to hear this. I literally have been off work all week due to a bulging disc. I have never experienced anything like this either, I couldn't imagine what you are going through.

I am very familiar as I am athletic/body builder as well and have never really been in this kind of pain or completely useless like this. I can relate tremendously, I didn't see it coming as well.

Best of luck with your surgery and I hope everything works out well!