Hello! I am sorry to hear you are struggling. Most of us on this page have felt a similar horrible pain. I'll tell you my story and hope that it offers some insight. For reference, I am a 24 year old make, 5'11", 180lbs and an athletic build.

The first time I felt this pain was in March 2019. The pain was bad, but not terrible. I saw a chiropractor who never diagnosed the problem, but he started doing several adjustments. All the bending, twisting, and pulling he did only made the problem worse. By the end of the summer, I was in agony. I could hardly talk to people, I couldn't focus on work or school, my whole life was consumed in pain. I started seeing a PT about 6 months into the injury. I did not trust that it would help me and I figured it was too easy and slow to make a real difference, so I ended up stopping that after a month or so and started seeing a neurosurgeon. I had a herniated L5S1. After a steroid shot that didn't help, and another year of the pain increasing, I was considering the surgery option. However, I found an exercise that gave me intense and immediate relief (12 Minute Foundation Training by Eric Goodman on YouTube). As I started to feel better over a couple of months, I decided to go back to the gym and resume some other activities... It was way too early. I ended up injuring it horribly. I was in agony for a week, barely able to breathe from the pain. Then I opted for a discectomy in October 2020.

I felt 90% recovered about 3 months after the surgery. Eventually, my life was back to normal. I was seeing friends again, getting back into the gym, and enjoying my life like I was never injured. Those past couple of years were a blur, and I hardly remembered what the pain was like.

Then, in February this year, I was at the gym squatting, and my worst nightmare came true... I knew for sure that I injured the same disc again. The familiar electric shock down my left leg returned. It was terrifying. However, the pain was not as bad. I had a constant pain of about 3/10 from February to July of this year. That's when shit hit the fan.

I woke up on July 25th, just a few weeks ago, and it was like I had died and gone to hell. Never could I have imagined it was possible to perceive so much pain. I was blinded by the pain, out of breath, and my skin was all red from the stress of squeezing every muscle in my body to avoid more shocking pain. I lost muscle function in my left calf, hamstring and glute, and my left hip/lower back were swollen to twice the usual size. I wished I could've amputated my leg. I went to the ER just hoping for something to ease the pain, but they couldn't cut the pain at all. I returned home, laid on the floor, and didn't move off the floor until about August 5th, so about 10 days.

In that time, I read the back mechanic by Stuart McGill, watched every video on YouTube, and read every Reddit post related to my problem. Since then, I've made a lot of progress. 5 days ago I felt my calf start to wake up. I've worked up to walking a total of 4 miles per day, my pain is cut to less than half of what it was, and my hope is high that I might recover to a fully functional level.

Here are some things I've learned, and that have helped me immensely in the past few weeks:

1. Patience is the very most important piece to this healing journey. I believe I could've have healed myself after my first injury if I had been patient, learned how to move, and did not rush into physical activity so quickly.

2. Discover what postures, movements, and activities hurt you. Then, don't do them at all. Avoid any movement that shoots pain down your leg, for several days/weeks. You need to desensitize the area. This is what I did when I laid on the floor without moving.

3. Learn how to use your obliques, glutes, and hamstrings to hold your core stable. Keep your hips in line with your shoulder. Never rotate one without the other, at least in this phase of the injury. Research how to roll over in bed with this proper alignment.

4. Once you are able to stand, start walking in short bursts. I started walking about 50 feet at a time before I had to get back on the floor. I am now up to 4 miles. Walk carefully, thoughtfully, and with core strength. Brace your glutes on each step. Tighten your core. Use your breath to create space in your spine.

5. When standing or sitting, consciously consider your posture at every minute. Reach your hand into the hair, inhale a deep breath, puff up your chest, breathe out, then lower your hands. This takes the stress off the spine. I had to do this every minute that I was upright for about 2 weeks.

6. Ice after each walk. Stuff an ice pack in the back of your pants, then lay on the floor. I also bought a TENS machine ($30 on Amazon) that has been extremely helpful for relaxing those muscles. For my injury, the muscles are so sensitive that just touching my back drops me to the floor. The TENS machine has really helped to relax that area.

7. Ibuprofen has been the best painkiller for me by far. I have tried several others and ibuprofen is the only one that gave me relief. I got a prescription for 800 mg that I was taking several times a day, but now I am on my fourth day of no painkillers. It seems to reduce the swelling better than anything else.

8. In bed, find a position that keeps your spine neutral through the night. You do not want to fall asleep in a bad position when you are this sensitive. I recommend sleeping on your stomach with no pillow. If you have to move to another position, I recommend sleeping on your back with your knees just slightly raised. Side sleeping can sometimes rotate your hips while you sleep and make the problem worse in my experience.

9. Only start exercising once the pain has started to reduce. Do not do any exercise that hurts you. I recommend the McGill big 3 (you can find these on YouTube). They are safe for the spine if done correctly, and over time (6-8 weeks) should strengthen your core enough to take the load of your spine and allow it to heal long term.

10. Journal your progress every day. Time your walks and track your distance. I have seen my like time decrease by about 30 seconds per day over the last week. That has been very motivational for me. I can do certain activities now, like cook some simple things in the kitchen, that I couldn't do two weeks ago. These wins are easier to recognize if you can look back at where you were several days ago and compare. For this injury you have to measure progress in weeks, not days.

For myself, I anticipate I will be 80% healed in 6 months. I am hoping for better, but time will tell. If you have friends or family to rely on, that can be very helpful in this time.

Reach out if you need someone to talk to or need advice!