My bulging disc is taking months and months to heal

I have a L4-L5 bulging disc and have been going to PT since March. My pain started with an ache in my hamstring that would hurt for hours and hours, and then slowly turned into lower back muscle pain.

With PT, I’ve stopped having all my really bad symptoms - the lower back muscle pain, numb toes, Charley horses, deep long-term hamstring pain, nerve pain in my calf - but I’m still feeling some lighter and shorter-term pain in my hamstring and a hard, pressure/bruise sensation in my spine when I bend or sit too long.

My PT seems frustrated that we can’t figure out why I haven’t finished healing. She thinks it might be some bad inflammation preventing me from finishing healing. I am autistic, and supposedly that has been linked to general inflammation issues, so maybe that’s making things even worse.

Has anyone else had just a simple, “small” (as it’s been referred to by a ortho doc) bulge can last THIS long even with PT, ice, heat, and Advil?

Any help is appreciated. Thank you