Reading through the threads, back problems seem to be sadly common here.

The back story (no pun intended): I woke up one morning in mid-March with numbness in my left leg. After six weeks of constant weakness and mild pain, plus lower back pain, a lumbar MRI showed a lateral disc bulge at L5-S1 crushing the nerve root.

I'm finally starting physical therapy for overall lower back pain, but the neurosurgeon I saw thinks that a microdiscectomy is probably the only solution left for the leg pain. To his credit, at our first meeting three months ago he was inclined to wait it out and try less invasive treatments (oral and epidural steroids, which failed). It's been five months with virtually no exercise; even standing up and bending over cause shooting pains.

Even if the sciatica is resolved, my back is a mess, with multiple levels of degeneration, disc bulges and stenosis. I'm only 25; no one has a clue what happened here. I've been told I probably shouldn't run, which is a real disappointment, and that everything else will be gradual and tentative. Lower back pain anecdotes abound, of course, and most of them seem to end with "I just have to live with the pain and limit my activity." Every time I hear this sort of resignation, my heart sinks a little.

Where are the people who've been through this, still have horrible backs and yet remain super-active? This board seems like the right place to find them. I'm hoping some of you can help me out, either with suggestions for what to do next or just encouragement. I know life goes on... but it doesn't always feel like it will these days.

Okay, done whining. Help me, TE; you're my only hope.