My husband had a herniated disc last summer (L3) from putting MY bike in the back of the truck. He continued to ride some, along with therapy and a few spinal injections, until it ruptured in October. He was literally dragging his left leg. He had surgery November 3 and was swimming, with no flip turns, by the beginning of December. Of course this called for a new bike, since he mostly rode a QRoo tri bike. He was back riding his new road bike by February and just finished his first Ironman in June. He did play around with handlebar adjustments, so he was a little more upright. We have just installed aero bars and he is working on getting back into a more traditional position. He just saw his orthopedist yesterday and gave him a picture crossing the finish line at Couer d'Alene!
We were blessed with great doctors and an awsome PT who does triathlons and is a nationally ranked masters swimmer. It really helps to have athletes treating athletes. There is hope for cycling after back problems!