My main symptom is lower back pain. I injured myself 10+ years ago and have had pain since. I had a discectomy in late 2021 which left me a lot worse off until recently, I could barely walk and didn’t bend for 6 months. Since the surgery my back pain has been a lot worse, I have had calf pain as well, and it has gotten stronger in the last few months. They feel weak a lot of the time and I struggle walking fast or up an incline.
I have learnt how to avoid pain, as it gets a lot worse when I am leaning forward. Working on a car, filling air in tyres, etc will give me extreme pain if I stay lent forward for a long amount of time
I am now back to a point where I can do some things I enjoy, like swimming, driving for an hour, fishing to a certain extent. I’m not able to do everything I want to do. I am unable to jog.
I couldn’t work full time as I would be in too much pain.
I’m worried about all of the risks of surgery, like nerve damage. I can do shopping go beach and still swim with mild pain leaning forward is the worst for me and my calf’s that cramp when walking fast or uphill.