I had a similar experience 20 years ago. I had a herniated disc triggered by heavy lifting. Spent about 10 months in pain (enough that it was a problem but no

I had a similar experience 20 years ago. I had a herniated disc triggered by heavy lifting. Spent about 10 months in pain (enough that it was a problem but not so much that it was debilitating). Finally had an epidural after months of PT that was going nowhere and was 100% fine the next day! I was lucky, the epidural broke the cycle of inflammation that in all likelihood the PT was actually aggravating. BUT.... Last year I had another herniated disc triggered by axing down a tree. This time it was really bad. I spent two months in debilitating pain unable to move or really do much of anything. Couldn't stand, couldn't walk, couldn't sit, couldn't lay down. All I could do was dope myself up on narcotics and try to sleep the time away. I had two epidurals. The first one took the edge off the pain away but I was till unable to move. The second epidural I actually regressed. So I went and had a microdiscectomy done. Turns out my nerve had slipped into a canal that had no room for it and was pinched inside. A week or two of recovery and I felt great again. BUT.... I didn't change my habits, covid-19 hit, I started working from home where I did not have anything close to an ergonomic setup and my back started to ache again. This time it was the original disc. I was doing ok, but it was enough that I knew I should talk to my doctor. A couple weeks later, at the pool, I decided to go off the diving board while my back was slightly bothering, and that slight bother became nearly debilitating pain again and two months of physical therapy. I feel great again, the PT worked this time. What's my point? The injection doesn't always work. PT doesn't always work. There's lots of ways things can go wrong. Take care of yourself and be careful, next time you might not be so lucky!