Patrick Cooke (UK) on 01/10/2023:

I was diagnosed with a bulging disc and severe dehydration of a few discs including the bulging disc which was impinging the left sciatic nerve. I was in a bad way. Physio never helped. Used a chiropractor twice a w££k to help realign the spine after years of poor posture. A chiropractor can only help align the body to where it should be, the rest is on you to learn how to move, sit and lift correctly. if you don't do this, your spine will end up out of alignment again causing your body to compensate and then more pressure on the disc. While you're doing this you want to focus on strengthening your core muscles to support your spine and posture. This will support the disc healing process and long term back health. (If your car was in a crash you would strengthen the impacted area to ensure its was safe to drive)

The next thing to do is regain disc height, when the discs are dehydrated they lose height and the disc wall will weaken leading to higher risk of the disc bulging. Unlike other parts of the body, the discs cannot draw in nutrients by themselves, they need movement and draw in nutrients like a compressed sponge draws in water. complete safe workouts to get the nutrients into the disc is key to rehydrating the discs. I would also ensure to drink plenty of water along with supplementation of key minerals like Magnesium, sodium and potassium to boost your mineral intake. Minerals are the foundations to health. Avoid alcohol (Dehydrates the body)

You may feel more pain early on, but you're agitating an already sensitive area. It's a long healing journey just stay patient and be consistent.

I had a lot of secondary inflammation around my hips caused by my body's response to the pain. so by the end of the day, I could barely walk. I cut out gluten entirely from my diet and the inflammation was significantly reduced and the sciatic pain had halved. It took two weeks for dietary changes to set in and it was hard to avoid Gluten products but it was definitely worth it.

Obviously this was my experience and not medical advise but I have now being free of sciatica for 5 years without a flare up.