28M Back in June I started having severe sciatica and back pain on my right leg, the pain was low when standing and laying down but sitting was brutal or going from sitting to standing. The pain got to the point I finally decided to get it checked out, I knew nothing about back pain so was shocked to see I had an extruded disc. 

I started PT and the doctor was even leaning to surgery, but after reading some accounts it seemed like there was a real possibility it could heal on its own. I decided to make some lifestyle changes 

1. Stopped lifting anything or running
2. Stopped wearing socks to avoid bending down at all 
3. Started PT 
4. Opted not to take any meds as I don’t want to mask the pain, and later found out anti inflammatories can interfere with the healing process 
5. Stoped sitting completely except when driving
6. Daily walk would stand at work 
7. Managed pain with heat pad 
8. Would eat blueberries and yogurt not sure if this helped but read it’s good at helping the body control inflammation 

It has now been two months and the pain has dramatically improved or close to zero. I can drive with zero pain but still feel a little bit of soreness if I do something weird, took a small break from PT but will be starting back soon 

I sit a little now but I alternate mainly from laying down to standing, still no lifting, running, or bending down just to avoid aggravating things. I’m probably going to start swimming soon. I think the thing that helped me the most was not sitting I didn’t realize sitting puts 140% load on your back vs standing 

Virtually pain free, wanted to share what I did