Going heavy (mainly squats) post-sciatica

beachgod

Background:

I was diagnosed with and treated/rehabbed for sciatica a few years ago and was advised by my physical therapist to avoid acitvities which put a lot of downward pressure on my back including squats and standing calf raise machines. I have tried doing squats since then and guess what? The PT was right; I should avoid doing them! My sciatica pain flared up big time. I have no desire to end up eating ibuprofen like candy and using a cane to get out of my car like I used to do pre-decompression therapy, so I am not going to suck it up and motor through it.

Questions:

So, what should I do if I want to go heavy? Just ignore squats and do the other compound exercises? I have tried dumbbell squats but they don't seem like they'd be very effective since I can only lift a fraction of the weight that I could put across my shoulders with regular squats. Should I do those anyway, with the thought being anything is better than nothing? Are there squat alternatives? Is there a miracle squat pill I can take (preferably recommended by Dr. Oz) and get the same results?

beachgod

And legit thread slides off of the internet.