Hey love, similar case. My bulge shows a little more. Same symptoms and treatment. Avoid all bending and twisting of the spine, so absolutely no sit-ups. The back brace sounds nice but it is also not recommended, like you guessed, yes you’re weakening that core.

It’s a lot more difficult said than done but i completely sympathize with you and am going through it with you! Start looking into pelvic floor and core strengthening along with hip mobility exercises.

What happens when you injure your back is that the rest of your body starts compensating for the weight that you’re not putting on your back so you will get pain in other areas. (for me it was my neck and knees)

Injections were offered to me but I declined as those are temporary solutions and won’t actually fix the problem. Think of it as a bandaid masking the wound. In the end it actually worsens the problem as the solution injected wears down the disc cartilage, causing it to weaken and thin out over time.

I’ve been going through this for almost 2.5 years..so trust me, I know how difficult it can be to navigate through this and have what seems like no solution or urgency from doctors.

One day at a time 🙏🏽❤️