wow Jess, I only just read this. I guess this has become the collective broken back thread! So sorry that happened to you Heal up quick and DO take the advice of your therapists. There's a huge difference between accepting a limitation after you're completely healed, vs. causing more damage during the healing process.
This thread has really brought home to me how variable medical care is around the country (and even in the UK, as Clock has showed). All these little tips and tricks that you've had to discover for yourselves, the OTs and PTs showed to my mom after her knee surgery and my dad after her back surgery, before they were even released from the hospital, or on their very first home visit.
I hate the place where my parents live, you really couldn't pay me to live there even if they didn't ... but the more I see of the medical care they get vs. anyone else I'm aware of, the more I want their hospital and their therapists to move here!
Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler