Dear Andre,
I hope my post will give u confidence.
I suffered a very serious l5/s1 rupture during end of 2009 that caused unbearable pain in left leg. It was as if someone stabbed me in the upper high and dragged the knife down to ankle. And the pain persisted for a long time. I was confined to bed for nearly two months. Whats worse-at that time i was nearing end of my PhD work and my wedding was to be held 4 months later. It was really the most depressing phase of my life. But now everything is absolutely fine and I am happily married. The key to my recovery (which of course was without surgery) was proper rest and correct course of physiotherapy. The integral part of my therapy was application of traction, and heat. That combined with lot of discipline, I was able to completely recover from the ordeal. Of course, the pain was gone in 2 months but I reverted to complete mobility after some 5 months. When I say complete mobility, I mean being able to do everything that included intense lab work.
U have got to be a little patient and perfectly disciplined now on. I had to say good bye to contact sports (I loved to play cricket). Now am doing great, but am very very cautious all the time. I dont lift anything heavy and never bend quickly. Life does change after disc herniation, but certainly not for worse. We need to be careful and respect the condition at hands and move on with life. Remember, respect your back-no heavy weight lifting and if u are into physical fitness, try to limit to walking or mild jogging after consultation with a doctor. I am sure u will recover well. Have a great life.
