r/HerniatedDisc

Imam diskus herniju vec nekih 25 godina. U pocetku(kao klinac) je oporavak isao sporo, bez operacije, ali sam bio mlad i to se vremenom saniralo tako da mogu skroz normalno, neometano da zivim. Sa vremena na vreme znaju da me bole ledja, ali obicno to vrlo brzo prodje. Medjutim, u poslednjih 6 meseci je to dosta ucestalije. Zanimljivo da sam nikad u boljoj formi, nisam gojazan, treniram redovno i poslednja epizoda traje vec nekih 7 dana gde imam spazam u donjem delu ledja, telo se postavilo u neki zastitni polozaj i nikako ne mogu da se vratim u normalu. Pored toga i blagog bola nemam trnjenja, bol u nozi ili slicno.

Radio sam i MR i ovo je nalaz radiologa:

MR PREGLED LS KIČME

Pregled urađen multiplanarno u T1, T2 i STIR sekvenci bez iv primene kontrasta.

Ispravljena lumbalna lordoza uz očuvan ugao promotoriijuma, visinu i signal korpusa.

Nema frakture ni TU infiltracije korpusa.

U visini L4-L5 IV prostora vidi se bubrenje diska.

U visini L5-S1 IV prostora vide se degeneracija diska i pripadajućih pokrovnih ploča uz veću rubno osifikovanu ekstruziju mekog jedra dorzomedijalno i dorzolateralno dominantnije po desnoj strani uz kontakt sa pripadajućim radiksima.

Medularni konus normalnog izgleda i signala i završava se u visini L1-L2 IV prostora.

Nema signifikantne koksartroze niti sakroileitisa.

Znaci ova epizoda iako malo ozbiljnija, meni ne deluje da je strasno, procice, ali ono sto mene zanima, moze li neko da mi da savet kod kog vrhunskog lekara da odem kako bi napravili plan kako da ovo resim "trajno" da ne bih svako malo imao problema, a tek sam u petoj deceniji zivota :D

3 weeks 5 days ago I threw my lower back out. I still have trouble with pain especially after sleeping. Still feels like if I move wrong ot will go out again. Chat GPT says its normal and can take 6 to 8 weeks to heal. I can't stand for very long or it gets to hurting. Still have to walk slowly and a but slumped over. I feel like its never going to end. Anyone else throw there lower back out and srill feel this way for this long?

Hi everyone,
I recently had an MRI of my cervical spine because I’ve been having problems with my neck and right arm, and I’m trying to understand how serious the findings are.
My appointment with a neurosurgeon is still more than a month away, so I’m asking here in the meantime. I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have had similar MRI findings, especially athletes or people involved in combat sports.
Here is the MRI report:
C5/C6: Small disc protrusion, mainly extending toward the right neural foramen, causing moderate narrowing of the right C6 neural foramen.
C6/C7: Spondylosis (degenerative changes) with a broad-based, bone-supported disc protrusion with components extending into both neural foramina. There is moderate to severe narrowing of both C7 neural foramina, with compression/impingement of the C7 nerve roots, more pronounced on the left than the right.
C7/T1: Small broad-based disc protrusion with a left foraminal component, but without definite nerve-root compression.
No significant spinal canal stenosis.
No spinal cord damage/myelopathy.
No abnormal changes within the spinal cord.
The cervical spine is somewhat straightened.
I’m a combat sports athlete, and this is obviously worrying me quite a lot.
I’ve already had what was essentially a proper C6/C7 disc herniation in the past, which caused numbness and weakness in my right arm. I still have problems during training, particularly with certain types of head impacts, which can trigger symptoms.
My main questions are:
How serious do these MRI findings look to you, particularly the C6/C7 foraminal stenosis and C7 nerve-root compression?
Has anyone here had similar findings and been able to continue combat sports?
Is it realistic to continue training and potentially compete semi-professionally, or is that something I should seriously consider giving up?
For people with similar MRI findings and symptoms, did you eventually need surgery, or were you able to manage it conservatively?
How dangerous is continuing to take occasional head impacts with this kind of cervical spine problem?
If you had similar problems, what did your neurosurgeon/orthopedic spine specialist recommend?
I realize nobody on Reddit can diagnose me or tell me whether I personally need surgery. I’m mainly looking for experiences from people who have been in a similar situation, especially combat athletes.
I’m trying to get an idea of how bad my situation potentially is and whether there is realistically a path back to training and competition.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience.

I'm twenty six female and I have three herniated disks and arthritis. It is excruciatingly painful. I have to take breaks and lay down every hour while doing household chores. Sitting down for long periods of time, make the pain worse, it causes all my muscles to lock up. Concentration is impossible. My pain can range from a 4 to a 9. I don't know what to do for work. I lost my health insurance, so I don't think I can apply for disability anymore. I'm so scared. I'm living with my family and they're pressuring me to get a job, but I don't know what to do. The pain is worsened by physical activity and the pain builds up until I stop what im doing. They think my pain is from the arthritis not the disk bulges. I can't get trigger point injections or steroid shots because that makes it worse. I've been having severe pain for the past 4 years. And occasional pain since I was a child.

MRI, CT or x-ray reports have a lot of findings that don't really mean anything clinically but radiologists have to report them. Often things like mild disc bulge or moderate foraminal stenosis are not something that you should be necessarily concerned about.

What matters more is if your exact symptoms correlate with an imaging finding.

I see a lot of patients including my own, rightfully so, get confused and alarmed by MRI reports.

Which is why I built this tool called SpineSense. It's free and HIPAA compliant, even I can't see your information. How it works is you answer a very thorough set of questions, and if you have nerve pain from a disc herniation, there is an area where you can paint the region of your pain. Then the algorithm will compare your symptoms to your MRI report (which you have to upload, can use screenshots). And it will tell you which of your symptoms correlate with what MRI finding.

In addition the tool will help you understand what exactly is causing your pain, and what your treatment pathway should look like.

It will also give you a detailed summary that you could share with others including your doctors that will hopefully help you get the right kind of treatment.

Give it a try, let me know what you think. I'll be happy to answer any questions about disc herniations you might have.

Link: app.SpineSense.ai

I had an MRI yesterday because my sciatica has been so bad. 36F, discectomy in 2020 (L4-L5) in 2020.

I recently had a very traumatic experience- my daughter passed away in utero at 37 weeks, during her birth I had very rare labor complication where my uterus ruptured, and doctors had to perform a hysterectomy to save my life. This was May 2026, I had 6 weeks of no lifting and limited activity and then went right back to lifting my 2.5 year old, house chores, life etc... I know i went to fast and didn't retrain my core properly but I am shocked at how bad my spine is without a blatant injury... Thoughts on recovery? I am hoping for a ESI because I cannot imagine another surgery right now...

Levels:

L1-2: No disc bulge or disc protrusion. No neuroforaminal stenosis.

L2-3: No disc bulge or disc protrusion. No neuroforaminal stenosis.

L3-4: Diffuse disc bulge with a posterior disc annular fissure measuring 18 mm. Mild spinal canal stenosis.

Mild bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis.

L4-5: Left foraminal disc protrusion measuring 9 mm in width and extending 5 mm into the foraminal

space. Mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis. Mild bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis.

L5-S1: Right paracentral disc protrusion measuring 2 cm in width and extending 5.6 mm into the thecalsac. Compression on the right descending nerve root. Moderate to severe spinal canal stenosis. Mild to moderate bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis.

I’ve had a herniated disc in my back for about 16 months and the pain is unbearable I’m in good shape always active I go to the gym I eat fairly well I’ve done everything right but the pain is constant and I can’t seem to do the things I enjoy doing, I’m thinking about trying the Wolverine stack I’m at a point where I’m willing to try anything for some sort of relief or recovery.

I’m wondering if there’s any bad side effects or if it’s dangerous in anyway or if worst case scenario it just doesn’t work?

Any other advice would be so appreciated. I just want my life back. It feels like there’s not gonna be a light at the end of the tunnel even though I’ve been told that there is.

I’m 23F with a 5.5mm L5-S1 herniation, back/leg pain, and mild left S1 radiculopathy on EMG. One neurosurgeon recommended fusion, but I’m hesitant at 23 and getting a second opinion.

For anyone who’s had a similar herniation and avoided surgery: how are you doing now, especially after a few years? Can you work out, lift, run, travel, and live normally? Any lasting limitations?
Would you make the same decision again? 🥴 thank you🙏🏻

Hello, I underwent an MRI in May of 2025 and received the following results:

Disc desiccation at L4 and L4-L5 levels with mild disc space narrowing.
Impression: Multilevel mild to moderate lumbar spondylytic changes with multilevel degenerative disc disease most prominent at L3-L4 and L4-L5 levels. 

My doctor wrote- “the MRI of your low back does show multiple levels of arthritis and disc degeneration, most at L3-4 and L4-5 levels where the discs are likely irritating the nerves as they exit your spine. Good news is the spinal cord looks healthy no pinching there. I would recommend a lumbar epidural steroid injection.”

I have since received two lumbar epidural steroid injections, but unfortunately the last one I had (this past May of 2026) wore off pretty quickly.

I guess my question is this- am I doomed? Ugh. Do you think I’m staring down surgery? I am an active 47 year old female. I work on strengthening my core daily through workouts I do online that alternate between Pilates and strength training, but have never done PT.

Just looking to hear from others with a similar herniation. Any truth to inversion tables or hanging from a pull-up bar?

Thank you. So glad I found this community.

I’ve posted before.. I had a 5cm herniation (not mm). I’ve mostly recovered (no more pain with sitting to standing) and no more severe spasms.

I also did not get surgery, received a ESI and did pt religiously.

The lateral side of my pinky toe is still numb, curious if anyone else has had lingering numbness despite pain going away?

Got a hernited disc in June 2025, still not healed, still only able to work 50%.

Feels like it stopped healing 6-7 months ago and havent improved not even the slightest.

Got one bulging disc and 1 disc that broke (the atuff inside leaked out)

No nerves are squeezed the doctors says, but it's now been 14 months since the injury and everypne says it should of healed already long time ago?

cant walk to much, cant sit to long, cant stand to long nor can I lay down to long

Kinda lost at this point, especiallt since it's not improved the slightest for half a year now

L4 +L5

Hi there! Today I had a double back injection! They placed the steroid at my L5 and S2. I am writing this because a lot of what I found online was scary, granted I’m 8 hours post injection, but so far so good.

For reference I have a moderate disc extrusion at my L5/S1 that hasn’t made much progress in over 6 weeks. In the last 2 weeks my pain has ranged from 3/10 to 10/10, so while progressing there are still very bad days. Oddly enough I just switched from not being able to walk to now not being able to sit.

Procedure took 3 weeks to get scheduled. The actual injection took about 20 minutes. I laid on my stomach in street clothes. The doctor explained everything he was doing step by step. I was 2 shot locations but 4 fluid injections into each, lidocaine, contrast, steroid, lidocaine. I could feel the lidocaine burn, but it wasn’t that bad - Maybe a 1/10 in pain and a 7/10 in awkward anxiety driven thoughts? Total appt time was 45 minutes. I needed a driver because of how long the lidocaine lasts. I walked out but they did not recommend driving.

No idea if it’s helping yet but so far I’m glad I gave it a try. I’m limited on meds I can take (just Tylenol), so this felt like something I really had to try.

Will update later this week if anyone is interested!

Does disc bulge and protrusion with annular tear ever heals and become 💯 again or no it will be for life long???

Honestly

Hey, I have a C6-C7 herniated disc, approaching 6 months of daily pain. It has improved really significantly over that time but nonetheless it’s definitely still there. Some days are better than others, but I take ibuprofen most days at some point when it flares up. I’m able to do rows and rear delt resistance machine work at the gym - the days I can do this it does make a difference. Seen several physios, do the chin tucks etc daily. I’m a software engineer and sitting for long periods is killer.

My neurosurgeon says it’s up to me at this point, he’ll replace the disc if I want. But if the pain is manageable we can wait to see if there’s further improvement. My feeling is that the recovery might have plateaued, I’m not sure there was significant change in the last month, though I’ve only been able to get back to the gym for the past week or two.

I’m looking for advice from anyone that’s been in a similar situation, ideally some stories of a strong recovery post six months because I have to be honest the surgery doesn’t sound appealing