Thankyou for the reply.

To be honest, I'm not really after any diagnosis of problem, or advise on problem as such, it was more that I was wondering what would happen to the disc itself. But if there is evidence that protrusions can go back into place then this is good.

Am not sure, but am assuming that as it is a protrusion I have, and not an extrusion, then the NP will be contained and not able to cause irritation to nerve. But the stabbing pains in bum and leg were def caused by something irritating the nerve/root, wether from the protrusion itself which has now started to 'go back into place' or wether due to irratation from surrounding structures, ie tight muscles etc, I am unsure.

After a week now of doing my stretches the pain relief is astounding!!! And I managed a 45minute drive yesterday with no painkillers needed and no flare up of symptoms which is a great improvement.

The Chiro did advise that I start stretching the piriformis and gluteal muscles, he just didn't advise me what exercises to do, but in his defence, I had a muddle with my appointment time that day and he just managed to squeeze me in as he is very busy, and perhaps there wasn't time for him to go over which exercises I should do. He did say, that any I do should cause a stretching type feeling in the muscle but should cause no pain to my back or SI. The stretches I am doing are just ones that I found on the internet. For the past couple of days I have now managed to try doing some back extensions and can manage them now pain free, but not full extension, just partly.

I tried to sit again last night on a firm chair with good posture and back support, but after 5mins the pressure became too much so I had to get up and had pain down to knee. Coughing used to be painful but is now just more uncomfortable. Sneezing is evil, LOL!! I have to brace myself for the stab of pain that it will cause. Stab of pain is in the sacral area. Infact majority of pain is around here I think, it is hard to tell at times, as the pain is deep. I feel no pain whatsoever in the L5 area, just a slight bruised kind of feeling if I push into that area with my fingers.

I agree that 5months seems a long time for treatment, but I do feel loathe to part with the Chiro as he has helped ALOT, even if there is not much focus on my muscles. And I have to admit, that over the course of seeing him, I havn't always heeded his advice. He has told me that I can continue climbing (he is a climber himself, and understands the physiology of climbing) but that I must be very aware and careful of how I move. Climbing involves certain moves to scale up the rock or wall face. Now, he has advised that I keep my moves small and fluid, avoiding any jerky moves, any lunging and scrunched up movements, or any high steps with the affected leg, bearing weight onto this leg. Basically any type of movement which compresses my back. This is why the hillwalking is so bad just now, as the downhill walking, causes too much compression. If I climb in the manner advised then all is fine, but I have often found myself pushing it, and going for harder moves, which result in flare up of pain. I have subsequently been going climbing less as pushing myself in my sport is one of the joys of climbing and I soon become bored doing easy moves. I am thinking that the time length of my recovery is due to my own fault in pushing myself too much, rather than anything the Chiro does, or doesn't do. Also, as I am lacking in sleep, I have become somewhat run down, and have had the flu twice in the past 5months, coming from rarely ever having any infections of any sort. The flu, both times put me to bed, and unable to exercise, and this, with all the coughing and sneezing at the time, made things flare up badly and set me back. I think I will continue with the Chiro for the time being but if my condition does not improve in the next couple of months then I shall research this 'Motor Control Training'. Thanks for the tip, re that.

Yes, I get more hamstring length with plantar flexion. SLR used to cause a violent stabbing sciatic like pain, but now just causes a tight, stretching type pain in bum, hard to pinpoint from where exactly.

Anyway, thanks again for the reply and like I said, I was more just curious as to what was going to happen to my disc. And I have many queries for the Ortho in a couple of weeks and for my next appointment at the chiro, just impatient for the answer I guess.