WOW, you DO have a big paracentral disc herniation at L3-4. And the bulge at L4-5 is no little one either!

It seems to me that something is going on between L2-3 & L3-4, but I don't know what it is. Maybe someone else can answer that.

You are right that if physical therapy hurts, DON'T DO IT.

Also, DON'T USE HEAT. This is what I learned by going to "back school" after I was sent there by my Neuro. Heat draws blood to the heated area, causing swelling, pain, and inflammation. ICE reduces the swelling inside (and there IS some), reduces pain, and also reduces inflammation. So you need to be using ICE for 20 minutes every 2 hours. Believe me, it WORKS. I thought he was nuts, so I used heat -- and ended up in bed the rest of the day. so I did like he said, and it WORKED. I felt much better!!! It reduced my pain, and I was able to walk almost "normal." LOL

OH GOD -- with your spine, DON'T GO TO THE CHIROPRACTOR! Do you want to be paralyzed???

As far as DDD -- we all get it. It's part of the aging process. All it is is drying out of the discs. It happens and there's no way to stop it. Everyone walking on the face of the earth has it. So it's nothing "terrible." You'll just shrink a little as you age. LOL

If you have any more questions, let me know. Hugs, Lee

we are all fortunate joe to have dedicated men like yourself in the military ....thanks so much...
one exercise i do for my calves is to lean on a counter or railing with my hands pushing to take necessary weight off the legs then i rise up and down with my toes exercising calves. just do as much as you can do and try to increase each day.....pete

Hey guys,

Leesa I know what you mean about the herniation, it's a big one.. but I also know they can be easier to treat then small ones so for that, I am thankful. There is something funny going on with the L2-l3, l3-l4 and L1-L2, it seems to me that the vertebrae is rounded towards the back and it looks like something is pressing on the spinal column. Furthermore, I am not to concerend for the DDD as like you said, "it happens to everyone". The past 10 years have been rough on my back, airborne, body armor, ruck marches and multiple deployments I have had a good run. I'm hoping I can keep it going for about 15-20 more years.

I cancelled my appt with the Chriro I'm going to keep stretching and doing my PT. still on standby with the Neuro, I called them today it's gonna take a week for them to determine if they can take me or not. Patience is a virtue, that I don't have...

pete, thanks I will try the calf raises, I have been doing some work on the staircase daily, My calf still gets sore from those so I know it aint completely dead. Any ideas for the Gluets?

Just as I am dedicated to my job, I am dedicated to fixing this problem, life without my calf muscle is not an option! Thank you for the support and I will keep this post going so the next poor soul that comes through here looking for calf weakness info can find what they need.

Just reading your MRI report. I would not do any excersises unless cleared by a neuro surgeon. Anytime there is nerve compression, that gets into an area to be careful in, until someone makes a recommendation to you. In the exact wording in your MRI did it say "Mild" or "serious" regarding the nerve compression?. That can give you an idea of what may be done to help you. Usually if the words Mild are used, they don't do a surgical approach. If it is serious nerve compression, then a neruo surgeon will be recommended. Please get a second opinion before you decide on any surgical approach. I really do wish you all the best. Keep in touch. ginnie

Ok, so I got the report and here is the exact verbiage.

1. At L3-L4, there is a large, central and left paracentral disk herniation,compressing on the nerve root sleeves, and causing marked, central canal stenosis.
2. At L4-L5, there is a large broad-based disc buldge, causing mild central canal stenosis.

I have started a decompression and massage routine this week, feelin better after my second session. I pray to god that this help me, I just want my calf strength back so I can walk normal.. I'm taking it easy on PT I'll still go but if I feel pain I'm gonna stop. Appointment with the Neuro scheduled, week and a half to go! Hopefully this will heal on it's own and I can skip the surgery.

Yeh, be careful with any PT until you see the neurologist. If it hurts don't do it. Hope there can be some good resolution. Anytime there is nerve root compression it is a good idea to have someone evaluate it carefully. I will be thinking of you. ginnie

I will definitely take that into consideration, I'm having a Neuro consult soon, and another Neuro consult a week after. My spinal decompression therapy seems to help as well, 2 days into it and my mobility is already increasing, no calf strength yet but I'm feeling more limber while walking.

I had a similiar issue.
For about 5-6 weeks I had pain but I was able to do stuff. It only hurt when I bent down, but I was still able to bend down with my knees and be completely functional.
Then I was playing volleyball one day and I really hurt my back. It hurt to even make a slight movement.

The doctor gave me medicine to reduce inflammation, and pain killers for the pain. I tried it a couple of weeks(took the pain killers only when the pain was unbearable) the pain had reduced but then all of a sudden one day I was limping.

I was refered to a spine specialist. By the time I got an appointment it was two more weeks. The pain was minimal but I was still limping.

After looking at my MRI he said it was Sciatica due to a herniated disk. But since I wasnt in too much pain any more and he said it didnt look bad he recomended Physical Therapy.

A few days later I started PT. He focused on my back and not the weak calf. I was worried because I was reading up stuff online and people wrere saying it takes forever to get better.

The excersises I did was
1. Bending backwords while standing
2.Laying on my stomach and arching back while trying to keep the hips on the ground
3.He did some stretch on me which is hard to explain, basically pushing down my thighs to one side and the opporsite shoulder to the other side.
4. Compressing the lower back while I lay on my stomach
5. And after i expressed my concern about my calf, he streched that leg by lifting it up while i lay on my back
6. I also tried to work my calf muscles by lifting my self up with both legs and letting go of the strong leg.
7. Since i usually spend alot of time sitting at work, I started work standing up too. Its hard at first but you get used to it.
8. When I layed down, or when sleeping, I tried to stay on my stomach as long as i could instead of my back.

I did PT twice a week the first week, and then 3 times a week the next two weeks.

I'm not fully recovered now, but I can lift myself up with my weak leg now. Its not as strong as the other leg but its getting better and I am relieved.

I still have some back pain...its more like a soreness though. I dont feel the shooting pain any more when i do my stretches.

My case might have been less severe than yours, but I thought this post might help you.

When i went to the PT initially I wasn't in too much pain. The bad pain had lasted about 3 weeks prior to visiting the spine doctor.

Good luck...hope you feel better soon.

@Frad,

Thanks for the reply... It's nice to hear a success story, how long since you initially injured your back?

I am doing spinal decompression about 3 times a week and I am doing PT 3 times a week as well, I also use my inversion table on non decompression days. Your physical Therapy schedule sounds like they used some of the Robin Mckenzie stretches from the book treat your own back. I have taken a break from those because I find it really hard to get up off the floor when I do those. My PT regime is like this...

15 min warmup elliptical.
3 min piriformis on foam roller.
3 min hamstring stretch on foam roller.
3 min rubber-band walks side to side.
3 min rubber-band walks to the front.
3 min leg extensions with ball.
Some other stretches, push ups and plank excersises.

Update: My calf and big toe are getting stronger, not sure if it is the PT or the spinal decompression. I can hold my body weight up with my right calf but I am unable to do a calf raise. I feel like every week I am getting stronger. I should probably hit the PT a little more but it's hard when i'm in pain.

i know you dont want surgery but it might get you back in the drivers seat sooner than anything else so if thats the priority ask surgeon about it....pal pete