Deployed in Afghanistan with a herniated disc

I have the same herniation L5 S1 I was misdiagnosed for months as having sciatica because my doctor refused the MRI. November 2017 i got one my pain was a 15 i could not walk, take care of my son cook a meal drive him to school it was awful i had pain radiating down my leg into my foot my foot was numb and tingly my leg hurt my butt hurt so i did this....First I started receiving trigger point massage which is specific focused massage on certain areas of the body for me it was my piriformis muscle. We worked on that for months that brought huge relief it helped ease the pain I didn't have to rely on pain meds. when the muscle finally relaxed out of what felt like a constant contraction it has been better ever since. Once I had my official diagnosis of disc herniation I found a doctor in my town a few months later because the specialist wanted to do surgery but I'm only 47 years old I'm not having some quack cut me open, he was more than happy to do so.

Dr. TURCHIN in Sebastopol California has helped me avoid surgery by doing two simple exercises every single day, not sitting, no bending twisting lifting anything. do not sit you must walk walk walk stand to eat get on your knees to brush your teeth i had too i still do, you cannot bend over. Sitting and bending over is the worst things for our backs. He said it would take a year for me to heal and recover and I would say I am 75% there because I have not been doing my exercises every single day I have been sitting more and doing things i'm not supposed to do. I have charts and diagrams he gave me I'm wondering if I can post those here for you to look at... sorry for ranting hope this helps some.

BASICALLY you want to bend your back the opposite way to push that disc back in slowly The two exercises are Sphinx and BRIDGE. let me find links to those poses. I would start with trigger point massage surely you can find someone there to work on any of the muscles that are in contraction due to your nerve root impingement that's why you have pain running down your leg into your foot get those muscles worked on stop sitting walk as much as you can and stand always never sit never and go find a dr like turchin he's like an old decrepit man like the crypt keeper but he is a miracle he's missing fingers i swear its s miracle im still here the pain was so bad I was taking 10 mg Percocets every five hours I don't take any pain meds now I weaned myself off of them. ill find links and post them asap

Hi, I am similar to you, i had an MRI and was followed up with physio and medication and 8 days total bed rest. This helped but two years later i still have daily pain, some good days and some bad. I manage to cycle to work and live normally. I was told to lie flat on my front for 15mins each day, which has the same effect as the person before me suggested. I also have a TENS machine which helps.

Anti inflammatories should help you, i can't take them as i have kidney disease which is why my treatment is limited

No just because u move more do mean a thing I would get a mri scan asap.

I know more about back then most doctor

Hi Charles,

Goodness so sorry to hear you've having a terrible time with your back at the moment. I do empathise having had lower back pain this last 18 months or so myself, and I've been lucky that I've still been able to do things but it's got me so down and affected me mentally and my work and everything, and I wouldn't wish lower back pain on my worst enemy.

One thing maybe to try Charles that I found wonderful for sciatica is a natural alternative therapy called Bowen Therapy. It's very safe, non-evasive and works on fascia. It worked like a miracle for me with sciatica after trying physio, chiro, all sorts. I have been getting it for 10 years and it has made a big difference. Maybe worth seeing if there are any Bowen Therapists in your area.

There is also a good book I've found helpful, it's called 'Back Pain Decoded' by Robert Shanks. I think you can get a black and white copy on Amazon for £20 (UK money). It is different from a lot of back books I've seen, gives details of different gadgets, alternative therapies, etc to try, explains things in quite a simple and straightforward way.

Hoping so much that things with your back settle soon and hoping and praying for God to bring healing for you in this area - hang in there Charles I believe that better times are ahead thanks to God. Thinking about you.

Craig

I was in a similar situation, bed ridden for almost a month, but took Laser therapy and became absolutely alright in 45 days. I continued the Nuga Best Massage therapy on a Roller bed for 2 months and that helped cure all, I repeat all diseases from my body.

I do have slight pains on and off, but yes, tolerable. Gets me going on.