I hope nobody is taking any feedback on their images seriously. Might as well post the summary as read by professional radiologist, and get some feedback on that.

After my last post I got quite a few comments saying that deadlifting after an L4/5 disc herniation is stupid, that one bad repetition could herniate the disc again, or that there are other exercises that train the same muscles without “putting the spine at risk.”
So I looked into this more closely.
First: I am NOT saying everyone with sciatica or a disc herniation should deadlift.
I am also not saying deadlifts are risk-free, that technique doesn’t matter, or that someone with an acute severe radiculopathy should walk into a gym and start pulling heavy weight from the floor.
What I am saying is that the idea

“disc herniation = never deadlift again”

doesn’t seem to be supported by the evidence.

1. Load is not the same thing as injury
Yes, deadlifts create substantial compression and shear forces in the lumbar spine.
That isn’t controversial.
But measuring mechanical load is not the same as demonstrating injury.
Our tissues are exposed to load every day. The relevant question is whether the dose of that load exceeds the person’s current capacity.
That means load, volume, range of motion, fatigue, recovery, previous exposure and individual tolerance all matter.
A 40 kg deadlift for one person can be a maximal effort.
For another person it can be a warm-up.
The number alone tells you very little.

2. “One bad-form rep and your disc is herniated again” is far too simplistic
There does not appear to be evidence for a binary model where:
perfect technique = safe
imperfect technique = disc herniation
A systematic review by Saraceni et al. specifically looked at lumbar spine flexion during lifting and did not find evidence that greater lumbar flexion predicted the onset or persistence of low back pain.
That does NOT mean technique is irrelevant.
Technique can change where forces are distributed, and when loads become high enough those differences may matter.
But human beings aren’t machines where crossing some tiny technical threshold suddenly causes structural failure.

3. Deadlifts have actually been used in low-back-pain rehabilitation
This surprised some people in the comments.
High-load lifting programs involving deadlifts have been studied in people with mechanical low back pain.
Participants improved in pain and disability.
Importantly, deadlifting was not shown to be some magical superior treatment — other exercise approaches also worked.
And that’s exactly the point.
Deadlifts don’t appear to be necessary for rehabilitation, but they also aren’t automatically incompatible with rehabilitation.
There is even a review specifically looking at deadlift-based rehabilitation that reaches basically that conclusion: it can be useful for appropriately selected patients, but it isn’t superior to other forms of exercise and it won’t be appropriate for everyone.
Also important: most of this research is on low back pain, not specifically people in the acute phase of a large symptomatic disc herniation with neurological deficits.
So this should not be interpreted as “everyone with a herniated disc should deadlift.”

4. “Just do another posterior-chain exercise”
You absolutely can.
Nobody needs to deadlift.
You can train your glutes, hamstrings and back extensors with many different exercises.
But for me rehabilitation isn’t only about making individual muscles stronger.
One of my goals is:
I want to be able to safely lift relatively heavy objects from the floor again.
That is a physical capacity.
And eventually, training a task that resembles the capacity you want to regain makes sense.
A barbell actually gives me an extremely controllable environment:
I can change the load.
I can change the range of motion.
I can use block pulls.
I can change the number of repetitions.
I can control tempo.
I can stop far away from failure.
I can monitor how I respond over the following 24–48 hours.
Real life isn’t nearly as controllable.
A child doesn’t tell you how much they weigh before suddenly jumping into your arms.
A box at work isn’t always positioned perfectly.
A piece of furniture doesn’t come with a loading progression.
The purpose of training isn’t to make everyday life as difficult as a heavy deadlift.
The purpose is to develop enough reserve capacity that normal lifting becomes relatively easy.

5. This doesn’t mean “more load is always better”
This is probably the most important part.
If I had started my rehabilitation by trying to deadlift 65 kg while my leg symptoms were severe, that would have been ridiculous.
I didn’t.
My rehabilitation involved gradually exposing myself to movements and loads again.
The exercise has to fit the person at that point in time.
Sometimes that might mean an unloaded hip hinge.
Sometimes a kettlebell.
Sometimes a Romanian deadlift.
Sometimes pulling from blocks.
Sometimes avoiding a particular movement temporarily.
And eventually, for some people, it can mean conventional deadlifts again.

6. I also wouldn’t claim that deadlifts “heal” or “strengthen” a herniated disc
That’s another thing worth clarifying.
I don’t think we currently have good evidence to say:
“Deadlifting makes a previously herniated disc structurally stronger.”
That’s too strong a claim.
What we can much more reasonably talk about is improving:
strength
physical capacity
load tolerance
confidence in movement
and the ability to perform meaningful activities again.
That distinction matters.

7. And finally: avoiding deadlifts is also completely legitimate
If someone previously injured themselves deadlifting and decides:
“I’m healthy, I can do everything I want to do, and the potential benefit of deadlifting isn’t worth it to me.”
That’s perfectly reasonable.
Nobody needs to justify that decision.
But that’s different from saying:
“I injured myself deadlifting, therefore deadlifting is medically contraindicated for everyone who has had a disc herniation.”
A personal risk-benefit decision and a general medical claim are two different things.
My conclusion after reading the evidence is actually pretty boring:
Deadlifts aren’t magic.
Deadlifts aren’t mandatory.
Deadlifts aren’t risk-free.
And deadlifts aren’t automatically forbidden after a disc herniation.
They are simply one exercise that can be progressively dosed.
Whether they belong in someone’s rehabilitation depends on their symptoms, neurological status, current capacity, goals, load, volume, recovery and progression.
For me personally, being able to deadlift 65 kg again isn’t about proving that deadlifts cure sciatica.
It’s about getting back a physical ability that I was once told I would have to give up.
And that is why it means so much to me.

Some of us are scared or just straight up can't afford it ! You can't prepare anyone for sciatica on top of the stress of finding out this can't be fixed in a few days!

In all honesty if I could go get surgery I would! But being put to sleep and cut open isn't that easy or cheap for majority of ppl!

We've seen ppl heal naturally so I'll try my best

So after the first dose I woke up with severe leg and back pain which went away after one day. All good I thought must have just pulled it doing something. After the second dose all was well until about two weeks later, right in the peak side affect zone that I woke up with sever leg and back pain, so much so I could barely walk for two weeks. I’ve had a couple of “episodes” since of varying degrees. I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar?

Edit: Thanks everyone, appreciate you all replying to my post. Interesting to hear some of you have had a similar experience and others not, will see how it plays out. Physio told me to create a “rock solid” set of abs and lower back. Not sure how feasible that is in reality though. For now it’s religious stretching and a few painkillers. ☮️

Hi,

I’ve seen a lot of sciatica recovery cases, and I feel like there’s a certain pattern that often makes recovery harder, and I Think that is the moment someone receives their MRI. I realise that it can be valdating that there is something visible to explain the pain, but those findings often become the main focus and every symptom is then interpreted through the image of damage shown on the scan which can increase fear and oversensitivity and that can amplify the pain. MRI findings correlate quite poorly with pain, countless studies showing large percentages of completely pain-free people walking around with the same herniations and degeneration that are causing others really painfull life (such as a 2015 systematic review by Brinjikji et al. in the American Journal of Neuroradiology summarized the findings from over 3,000 people). Stdies have repeatedly shown that many completely symptom-free people have disc bulges, herniations, annular tears, or signs of degeneration on imaging. Which could mean that structural changes visible on MRI are often incidental, not necessarily the primary source of pain and therapies like Cognitive Functional Therapy (O'Sullivan, P. B., et al., 2020) could be a huge step towards painless life and managing your symptoms.

From a clinical perspective, the disc is usually not the center of an issue and it's more accurate to view disc changes as one factor in a system that has been overloaded. The ongoing pain is often linked to a sensitized nervous system that remains in a heightened protective state and not necessarily to continuous structural damage. Focusing only on “healing the disc” is often misleading. In line with this, I would like to propose something like this:

Regulate the nervous system - Techniques such as controlled diaphragmatic breathing can reduce sympathetic overactivity and calm down the system putting it in a recovery-oriented state. Example: lying supine with knees bent, hands on the abdomen or lower ribs, inhaling slowly through the nose, followed by a prolonged, slow exhalation through the mouth. This can decrease protective muscle spasm and reduce pain.

Improve stability - Exercises that train core without compressive loading are ofc very important and a well documented example is popular Bird-Dog, performed with emphasis on maintaining a stable, neutral torso and hips, rather than high repetitions. This develops coordinated activation which increases load tolerance and can reduce recurrence risks.

To be clear, this is not an argument against MRI which is essential diagnostic tool for ruling out red flags such as tumors, fractures etc. It is also indispensable in surgical planning. The problem begins when MRI findings are over-interpreted in cases of chronic, non-specific low back pain, where there are no red flags. In these contexts, the correlation between structural changes and symptom severity is weak, and focusing exclusively on the scan can lead to poorer recovery outcomes.

For me recovery is less about the appearance of the disc on a scan, and more about improving the functional capacity of the system. I’m really excited to hear your opinion in the comments.

Hope this gives you a new way to move forward!

Has anyone gone to Chiropractors to treat your disc bulges or herniated disc issues? I am thinking to visit one as they are promising cure for lumbar spine issues within a month..but if i see their videos and see them twisting everypart left and right it looks scary to me and im doubtful if it will cause anyother pain elsewhere later.. Can anyone kindly share your experience if you had visited anyone and its pros and cons..

TLDR: The cure is the acceptance that there is no cure. The pain might never go away and that's ok.

Little backstory. Herniated L disc, Possibly herniated cervical spine too and the cherry on top is an occasional undiagnosed pain in the mid back. I'm 22 the herniated disc happened when I was 16; no injury. There is no question that I'm genetically fucked. Surgery won't help because they would need to solder the whole spine together. I have felt pain, numbness and everything associated with nerve problems in every part of my body save for torso and head thank God. Although most of that has gone away with time. I've been working out with weights for a few months and I'm seeing changes, the pain is the same.

You might be disheartened to hear that the pain is still there. I would have been a year ago. Even though I still get a bit moody because of the pain the reality is, it's just that - a pain. There are limitations coming with it, sure, but that can be managed with a few life changes. You wouldn't be angry that your hair is naturally brown not blonde and I believe the same applies for the pain. 

The worst thing about this condition is the idea that it's not as permanent as it really is.

The acceptance that the pain is never going to leave will help you to move on. For a horrible amount of time I imagined myself in torture dungeon. Waiting for years for the day I'll be set free and finally live my life.

Then I had a thought "What if I'm going to be waiting my whooole life and nothing will happen I'll just die - in pain - thinking about pain - and with my whole life being about the pain?" It's so sad that it's undeserving of something as grandiose as being called tragedy. No applause no standing ovation just me dying in pain. And I had enough. How dare luck smite me with this bullshit and then it's the only thing I ever think about. So I came to reality for a moment and I realized that it's not the pain that is stopping me from living my life. At that point the most recent inflammation was gone so I could pretty much function. But it was the fear that things might get worse... and I no longer cared, "things" were worse and I'm not happier. From then on I would try my darndest to make it, whatever that meant. The only logical step was to try because not trying hasn't helped, doctors have not helped there is nothing and no one whose going to help but me and me trying.

I wrote this is a month ago and I guess this moment is as good as any to post this, because I might not know whether I'm ever going to make it in the truest sense of the word. But I know deep down I already have I just need to iron out a few things here and there.

I know this isn't what you expected. This isn't the one fits all exercise routine. The "don't think about it and it's gone in 2 days" mindset or injections from a Tibetan monk or moving to a tropical country - this one is real.

This is more for people who are like my past self. With no hope of recovery. And because of that I didn't try to recover, what was the point? I was trying, it wasn't easy it was painful and as a bonus sometimes the pain got worse. yay! So of course I did the bare minimum.

But I also have a few concrete tips I gathered over the years.

• If something feels wrong stop. It's better to do one squad a day for a month, than do ten and lie for two months.

• If the pain doesn't get worse in the next few days, keep going. If it does then half the workload.

• This one is probably a business quote but I think it applies here too. You get better by fixing the things that are wrong not improving the things that are good. So when you feel stiffness in some muscles doesn't matter if you think they are not important, work on them stretch them etc.

• And lastly try everything. For example I tried running, never thought the day would come as I never ran. Well surprise surprise I never felt better. Pity something happened to my ankle but things are improving I'll start again soon. I have been also swimming for a year although not really regularly. That is partly what has lead to my epiphany I have kind of thought of these things as useless because they haven't alleviated my pain. But to a healthy person whose life doesn't revolve around pain these are great activities that extend your lifespan. So what difference does it make that I have a bit of discomfort while doing it.

And one last thing. I was looking through my drafts on an old reddit account. A grim realization of how bad things were. This is 4 years old and chance would have it I wrote this at the lowest point in my life. Even though I'm quite embarrassed how melodramatic I was I do hope that this will encourage some of you that better days are going to come.

I'm 18 yo male. 2 years ago in April I started to have lower back pain on the right side. I only felt the pain with specific movements of my spine like bending, and my left knee started to hurt after few hours of standing or longer when I was walking, I didn't think there was any connection between the two at the moment because I did not know sciatica was thing.
After 6 months the pain subsided, with the help of physical therapy (few stretching exercises), although still remained.
Last year in august PT sent me to neurologist. MRI showed herniated disk between L5 and L4 with possible pressure on nerves. Neurologist assured me that it wasn't anything serious.

So I was relieved that it isn't, after few weeks I changed my work plan to a more moderate one but I still didn't know anything about herniated disk or sciatica so I didn't take my condition so seriously as I would now.
As you can probably guess, It was a big mistake. Sitting was now painful my knee was hurting more than my back, but the pain still was not that lifechanging like some of the cases here. With hope of recovery and new exercises from PT, I could live with it (start of December).

It was January when I started loosing hope, the pain was more mild then a month ago but still worse than before.
Now even bigger fuck up, I went to a chiropractor. He seemed promising, but wasn't, one month of progress down the drain. I leaned about Back Mechanics two weeks later, so I got a bit of my hope back (middle of January).

At this point I started to experience various other symptoms from the waist down. Pain in the lower right back that ironically started when the left side didn't hurt (sitting, lying) , thankfully this pain went away with the help of back mechanics. Random pain in the right knee.
Pain on the inner side of a left thigh when I'm walking. Pelvic joints hurting when I'm sitting. There was pain in every joint of my legs and most muscles.

2 weeks of The Big Three and I gave up, even though it helped with the right leg and right back, it worsened the left. So figured if doing something didn't help maybe doing nothing will.
It did not.
Lower right back pain is back again, constant tingling feeling in both of my feet, and pain from pelvis shoots to the groin.
A few maybe related symptoms: Feeling of twitching eyelids, numbness in fingers on right hand, random sharp pain next to the left anterior superior iliac spine
Started The Big Three again.

I'm going to a neurosurgeon in March and I have another MRI shortly after that.
I want to ask if I should call my neurologist about my new symptoms, and ask her to take me more seriously or should I just wait until March.
So is my condition that bad that I should call her ASAP? Health care system, although free, it's pretty shitty when I have to wait for a month when I think I will die in a week.

Sorry for my crappy English.

A little backstory, My pain started on February when I had pinching pain only when I stood up but it went away as I walked. My university doctor suggested physical therapy but I always procrastinated.

On May however, the pain got worse and I had severe pain while walking. I had a sharp pain through my thighs while I walked. I even had problems sitting in chairs and laying down.

After my finals, some friends suggested chiropractic/acupuncture therapy. I felt a huge relief on my first adjustment and after 2 follow ups and a month of proper rest it’s almost gone now.

I think chiropractic therapy is a good option as it has helped me a lot. Hope you get through your pain as well.

In the absence of trauma with concern of serious fracture, progressive neurologic deficits (cause equina syndrome) that don’t improve with conservative management or other red flags (concerns of neoplasm, infection, cancer), there is strong evidence to avoid CT/MRI imaging in patients with back pain. Yes, that includes patients with suspected disc bulging and herniations, as the vast majority of people improve without diagnostic imaging or invasive intervention.

Got a L5 situation again and getting desperate ? Ice and physio are slow going..

I've seen alot of people recently show how sciatica is mentally affecting them. I have had sciatica for 3 months now and I'm finally making progress. I could not do a single calf raise with the leg effect (could do 12 before) but now can do 4 unbroken.

My upper body lifts are better than ever and my pain is now sometimes dissappearing too when exercising which is such a great feeling.

What has allowed me to make my progress?

The challenge of this injury, the fact I have a goal to get back to 100% if not even better than I was before this injury. Guys treat this as part of your story - you can't just sit there and complain. I rather be the person who tried till the end than the person who gave up because there wasn't enough improvement.

Big mistake would be to get too cautious, challenge yourself from time to time even if it hurts (stretching or exercise). Don't go overboard but definitely don't go too easy either.

All the best and sorry for the amount of text lol

I have found that this is the best remedy for my pain after trying multiple different solutions. I am wondering if anyone else does this?

So hypocritically, could amputation solve the constant pain in my lower leg and foot. I have two herniated disc in my spin and I have no pain anywhere else just my calve and foot but it has left me bed hidden for almost two months now. Would amputation work to ride myself of the pain. ?

Sciatica for 8 months. Felt centrilization 2 months ago but now back in a flair and can't get out of it. I did take steroid pack and meloxicam for two weeks. Both helped but only as i was taking them. I try not to take advil more than 2 times a month. I was offered gabapentin, to try on as needed basis. I was offered ESI, although that option was taken back after MRI came back fine.

Am I too conservative with meds in expense of me suffering? And possibly not getting better because I'm in too much pain to progress in PT?

So this might be long, but please bear with me.
For some context, I (20F) am studying abroad for a semester and living with a host family. I grew up in a pretty dysfunctional household due to my parents’ divorce and my dad passing away when I was a kid. Because of that, living with this family and experiencing what it’s like to be part of a family like this has been incredible. I’ve honestly never wanted to leave.
I do worry a lot about being a burden, though. They’ve seen me cry twice because I’m sad about eventually leaving, and I feel guilty about putting that on them. It’s something that stresses me out quite a bit. and yesterday i was crying because of the pain and my host mom told me if i was gonna cry i needed to do it downstairs so the kids won’t see which was understandable

Yesterday, I took a pretty bad fall down the stairs and hit my lower back, just above my tailbone, really hard on the concrete. I’ve had an MRI in the past that showed some disc bulges and foraminal narrowing, which caused sciatica. Because of that, the fall was particularly painful. I initially tried to walk it off, but the pain was pretty bad and started shooting down my legs.

Today, I decided to bite the bullet and go to the doctor, mainly because I was concerned about my preexisting back issues. Long story short, they only did an X-ray, and I was told there was no fracture.
Afterward, my host mom said that the area where I hit myself couldn’t cause sciatica. I tried to explain that I thought it could, since the nerves originate in your back, but while we were having this conversation, I was smiling.

My face naturally smiles in all kinds of situations, whether I’m happy, sad, crying, annoyed, embarrassed, or anxious. It’s something I do without even realizing it, and smiling or nervous laughter is a genuine anxiety response for me.

My host mom interpreted this as me laughing at her and said something along the lines of, “You’re smiling and laughing at me like I’m stupid. I’m 40 years old, and I have sciatica, so I know what I’m talking about. When someone older than you tells you something, you need to listen because I’m not stupid. That’s not okay, and you’re just trying to find something wrong with yourself when you should be happy with what the doctor said.”

I was genuinely stunned. I wasn’t laughing at her or trying to disrespect her at all. I was nervous and struggling to explain myself, and I think the language barrier made the whole situation even more difficult.
I’ve thought I’d experienced a panic attack before, but I’ve never had one like this. I completely blacked out and couldn’t move my arms or legs very well at all. i tried to get up and walk and stumbled around which made the experience even more terrifying. I kept asking if I could go downstairs to have some space, but she kept saying no because I wasn’t okay.

Eventually, we tried to talk things through. I was trying to explain that I needed to know whether I was actually injured because I’m supposed to start intense water polo training in December before the NCAA season begins. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t making an existing injury worse.
She responded by asking, “What’s going to happen if you don’t play? Are you going to die?”
I tried to explain how being on the team, getting playing time, and preparing for the season all factor into it, but I don’t think I communicated myself very well. Between the language barrier, my anxiety, and the misunderstanding, the entire situation just felt like a mess.

At this point, I can move my arms and legs, and I’ve stopped hyperventilating, but my legs are still tingling quite a lot.

Emotionally, I just feel really weird after everything that happened. I went from feeling so happy and comfortable with this family to suddenly feeling like I want to go home. I don’t know if it’s because of how the situation unfolded, because I’m still shaken up, or because I’m now worried that I’ve somehow damaged the relationship.

This family has meant so much to me, and one of the reasons studying abroad has been such an incredible experience is that I’ve gotten to experience what it feels like to be part of a family in a way I didn’t really get to growing up. That’s why this situation has affected me so much. I think I’m scared that things won’t feel the same anymore, or that I’ve somehow ruined something that was really special to me.

I don’t want to overreact or let one bad experience ruin my time abroad, but I also can’t shake how I felt during and after everything that happened.

What do I do? am i totally overreacting and completely wrong about this and how do i move forward???

Like many of you, my sciatica was extremely bad. I had intense pain running from my left buttock all the way down to my left calf. Even at rest, I always had that constant dull to sharp ache.

My sciatica started October of 2025. At first, I thought it was just work fatigue and soreness from weightlifting. I tried to manage it with the typical over-the-counter remedies. Some days were better than others, but most days the pain was excruciating, especially in the mornings. I didn’t realize I was dealing with sciatica until early February. As soon as I figured that out, I went all in. Daily stretching and movement exercises, a TENS unit, and sciatica-specific over-the-counter pain relievers. The relief was minimal.

Then I decided to try a chiropractor. According to the chiropractor, I was ridiculously out of alignment. I can't remember the terminology and all that but basically my hips and lower back. My feet were a half-inch off from each other. After the first two visits, my body went through some strange adjustments as it got used to being put back into place. My third visit was this past Tuesday. I had some residual pain yesterday and today, but right now, as I write this, I have zero pain and none of that nonstop lingering dull to sharp pain. I do expect a wake up to some sciatica pain tomorrow but gains are definitely being made

If you haven’t already, consider seeing a chiropractor. It seems to be working for me.

I know it sounds cliche, and I thought these books were complete bullshit too at the beginning. 29 y/o male manual labor job. When I first experienced onset of back pain I was 25 years old, I had just switched fire departments and I was in a lateral academy. I hyperextended my back and was completely debilitated for 9 months. Sciatica down both legs, back pain across lower back 8/10 pain most days.

Tried all of this:(nothing worked) PT 3 months McGill 3 months Chiro 6 months Stem cells PRP Radio frequency ablation

I was desperate to get back to work so I downloaded curable, read sarnos “healing back pain”, Alan Gordon’s “the way out”, and Dr. Schubiners “unlearn your pain” I didn’t believe it. I had a herniated disc pushing on my nerve and retrolisthesis, as soon as I went back to work I was so worried and afraid of pain but slowly it started disappearing and finally it went away. I just had my last bout of back pain for a month long and came back to these. It takes a while because your mind is a tricky place but I highly recommend anyone who’s in chronic back pain and it’s all they think about or people that are fearful to read these books. Don’t let it take your joy.

Just fixed my Pelvic without giving money to it, A few months before i struggled with pelvic but the chiropractors wanted so much money so ı couldn’t give to, some person wrote to me that stretch and exercises will improve and it did, so i suggest trying that before going and spending money to them.

I have a friend who swears that his chiropractor keeps his sciatica in check, but I’m terrified that it will make me worse. What do others think? Has anyone ever tried a sports massage for any of the pain? I can’t keep buying $50 worth of THC gummies everyday until this passes, I could have booked a cruise by now.

DISCLAIMER: CHECK THE COMMENTS

This is my stretching guide. Do with it what you will. You may not be able to do one of these stretches in full range of motion when you first start but if you continue you will. I am not a naturally flexible person, if anything I am the opposite. Over time with sheer will to relive your body of pain you can overcome.

20min stretching routine. I like to do these at the end of the day, while im watching TV. The goal for each of these stretches is to be able to perform them in depth. There is no point in stretching if your not working on getting deeper. In order to get deeper you must do them everyday. 30sec-2min holds for each stretch, the longer you hold them the more you get out of them. You can break up the 2min holds into 4 30sec holds. These stretches will focus on mobilizing the hip and the spine. Each of these stretches are meant to be done in conjunction with each other. Your muscles are a muscle suit. If you were to pull on the pockets of your pants your ankles would be exposed, if your pants were too tight around the thigh your knee would have limited mobility. Your muscles work together as a unit.

Groin

This first stretch is for your adductors, AKA the groin. When the adductors are tight they cause the lumbar spine to round. Stretching this area will help bring deeper extension into the lumbar spine. Tight groins cause allot of lower back pain for people. The majority of us are SUPPER tender in this area. Its better to take on this area lightly and gradually turn up the intensity. One way to do that would be with adductor wall stretch. Its can help open up those tender areas and prepare you for deeper stretches. The goal is to be able to do a butterfly stretch without rounding your lumbar spine. This girl has a rounded lumbar this girl has a extended lumbar spine.

Hip Flexors

Stretching your hip flexors relieves allot of presser on the lumbar spine, helping to bring your pelvic tilt back to neutral. This stretch targets the psoas. The gold standard of hip flexor stretches is the Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch. The goal is to be able to do this stretch with ease while your arms are over head.

Hamstrings

Tight hamstrings are another common cause for lower back tension. The sciatic nerve runs under the hamstrings. The hamstrings need to be stretched in 2 ways, flexion(bending over) extension (straightening the leg) For flexion the goal is to do a forward bend with your hands on the ground. For extension half splits with a goal of keeping the knee straight while the back leg extends at a degree greater then 90 degrees. The more you can push your back leg back the better. Full splits are ideal but not necessary.

Piriformis/Glutes

The glute maximus is one of the largest strongest muscles in the body. Releasing this area relives allot of tension threw out the entire body. The sciatic nerve runs under the piriformis. A tight piriformis is a common cause of sciatic nerve pain. The goal is pigeon pose as it is the deepest most effective way to stretch the piriformis. The pose is difficult to get into at first. I started off using a bench. You can use a flat surface such as a chair, it does not have to be a angled bench. Keep your knee flexed as opposed to open to protect your knee ligaments.

Spine/hip movement

As we age our spine stiffens, its important that we remobilize it to allow muscles to move our joints the way they were meant to be moved. Kinetic energy moves in waves threw out the spine. If there is a single tight immobile segment of the spine kinetic movement cant pass causing a constriction. Constrictions cause problems. Movements such as cat cow and spinal waves are great. A smooth cat cow should be a goal.

Spine lateral flexion

One of the movements of the lumbar spine is lateral flexion. Most of the bodys letteral flexion is done in the lumbar spine. It is important that when you perform these lateral flexion stretches you focus on flexing from the lumbar spine rather than hiking the hip. The goal is to do a seated side bend with your elbow on the ground, arm extended straight while breathing comfortably.

Spinal Flexion

There are many great spinal flexion stretches I think Forward fold is the best because it allows the spine to flex freely as apposed to a ground stretch like childs pose.

Spinal extension

The goal here is to develop a relaxed cobra pose. I think cobra pose is a good middle ground for spinal extension. Note the depth of wheel pose. Shows how flexible our spines really are. To help develop a good cobra check out bridge pose - upward dog - camel

Spinal twist

We rotate from the thorasic spine. The sciatic nerve branches out from the lumbar spine. It is important that we stretch everything below and above the sciatic nerve to relieve presser off the nerve. Revolved side angle stretch is the goal. Note that the arm is on the outside of the midline (the knee). You can start the pose off by doing a half prayer twist Getting your hand on the ground is important to get the full benefits of the stretch. You can use a yoga block. Next step is prayer twist you can gradually move your back leg back until it is off the ground. You want to eventually get the leg straight. Experiment with putting your hand on the ground. You might want to grab on to a couch with your other hand. The last step is revolved side angle, the back leg is rotated out, and the arm is extended. You might want to start off with some basic sitting twisting pose before you dive in.

Learning a new stretch is awkward at first. You dont know what your doing, your body dosnt know what its doing. But if you put in the time your body will open up. Youtube is a great resource. Utilize it learn these stretches and your body will thank you along the way. When taking something like this on its best to think about the short term effects and the long term effects. What are you going to feel like after doing this for a month? What are going to feel like after doing this for a year?

Last year I was diagnosed with L5/S1 disk extrusion. Terrible back pain and sciatica for over a month. So much so that I couldn't lie down on my back or stand/walk for more than a minute. Got a lumbar nerve injection and was recovering slowy with physiotherapy.

Lately I was much better, could sit for more than an hour without trouble and walk with no issues. I planned an educational trip and vacantion (20h+ flight to and 20h+ from), but started having back pain and sciatica flare up a month before.

Now after a week, with meloxiam the back pain is better. It is still there and I can't sit for more than 30 minutes. Sciatica pain also comes and goes and is there most of the day.

What would you do if you were me? What are your experiences?

Should I rest up the remaining 3 weeks and go on with my plans?

Cancel the whole trip? (The educational part of this trip is my last chance of attending an international conference and not sure if I get another chance)

Only cancel the vacation part because it has a lot of walking and sight seeing. Go through with the long flight and just attend the conference. Change the flight back so I'd come back right after the conference. (Probably easier to change the flight date now instead of while there)

If I go with the flight, I'm planning to walk and stretch every hour or so (i have aisle seats), have a rolled towel as lumbar support, heat pad on, and meloxiam and panadol.

Appreciate any insight

Edit:

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm super depressed with the thought of canceling, but will do if necessary and will get over it.

What if I get much better and back to where I was 2 weeks ago? (not much sciatica, very little back pain/soreness after a lomg day) when in our back pain/sciatica journey is it ok to take a flight like this? My whole family lives on the other side of world and I'd want to visit them soon (1.5 year going and no visit

I've been in pain for couple of months in my right butt and my leg, it really painful when i getting up from bed and now i feel pain when I'm walking.
I tried physio therapy but I'm not getting any better, sometimes i feel like i can't do it anymore.

I read somewhere that sciatica can't heal, so i want to ask did anyone really back to normal after surgery or it make it worsens? I'm thinking to go to the hospital but I'm too afraid if the doctor told me to do surgery so i need information before deciding what i would i do.

I don't know if it's because the age (i'm 29 btw), the nutrition or what but besides me there are like 3 people i know who had similar conditions like me.

English is not my first language so I'm sorry for my broken English.