Been there. Same excruciating pain. Had an MRI which clearly showed the disk herniation and immediately had surgery to correct. The doctor removed some back bone to get to disk and snipped away the portions that were herniated. That was in 1998. I’m just now to the point where I can comfortably run again.
Do whatever you can to heal the herniation without surgery such as exercise. My wife has since heard that some doctors believe the herniation will heal without surgery. The best exercise for my back are stomach crunches, believe it or not. Good luck.
RATS! I had a bet with hubby over this. He kept telling me to do crunches and I kept saying, "that doesn't make sense, it'll kill my back!"
I lost......again.