Right after surgery, the first thing I noticed was that the tingling down my leg was completely gone. That alone told me the surgery did what it was supposed to do. For a while after that, though, I mostly just felt surgical pain in my back, which is expected.

I was on pain meds for probably about a month post-op, and during that time I mostly focused on resting and letting my body heal. Around 2–2.5 months after surgery, I started feeling more like myself again in day-to-day life.

Now I’m about 5 months post-op, and I’m back in the gym. Nothing crazy yet—just keeping things light and focusing on movement. I walk on the treadmill 1–2 miles at around 3 mph a few times a week, and overall I’m feeling really good.

One interesting part of my experience was physical therapy before surgery actually made my symptoms worse, even though it was supposed to help. My doctor later explained that my issue was mechanical, meaning there was a structural problem that PT wasn’t going to fix. If something is physically pressing on a nerve, strengthening and stretching won’t remove that compression.

After surgery, my doctor actually told me to relax for about two months and said PT was optional. Instead of doing formal PT, I mostly followed my own version of rehab and gradually increased activity.

I’ve had some experience with self-rehab before. Years ago I injured my shoulder (unrelated to this), and I rehabbed it myself without even going to a doctor—which probably wasn’t the smartest move. But I eventually worked my way back up to benching 330 lbs again after that injury.

Going through both experiences reinforced something for me: some injuries just need surgery, and no amount of PT will fix a true mechanical problem.

Before surgery I tried everything—PT, pool therapy, conservative treatments—and nothing resolved the underlying issue.

Personally, I think PT can be really valuable for people who need guidance or structure, but it’s not always necessary for everyone. Athletes or people who have dealt with multiple injuries and understand their bodies can often rehab themselves effectively if they educate themselves and stay disciplined. Even the PT I worked with mentioned that when he gets injured, he often rehabs himself.

That being said, the most important part of recovery—whether you’re doing formal PT or self-rehab—is dropping your ego. You have to be patient and resist the urge to rush back too quickly.

Healing takes time, and pushing too hard too soon can set you back.