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I had a herniated disc that I tried to deal with it for about 4-5 yrs until I just couldn't take it anymore. I had it removed in '95. The pain was how you describe yours. It felt like a huge fork was stuck in my calf, my foot felt dead, and I couldn't take a full step with my left leg. The day I could walk down the hospital hallway with out that feeling was awesome. I tried PT, chiropractors, acupuncture etc.. I found out that an injured, swollen muscle in your back, that presses on your sciatic nerve, will give you the same pain. So most MD's treat you conservitively for muscle injury's first. Surgery is the last option. MD finally told me," Once the disc is out, it's out, it's not going back in. You can't put the tooth paste back in the tube. We go in, get whatever's on the nerve out of there, and then pay attention to it the rest of your life." I've seen and heard horror stories of surgery gone bad, or not getting the desired results. That being said, I don't regret getting it done for one second. Good luck with it either way. Advice- Stretch your back, hamstrings, neck as often/regular as possible. Hammy's get ignored a lot and hugely impact your posture. Tight ones make it hard to improve your posture no matter what else you do.
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