L5-S1 disc herniation, I’m supposed to avoid bed rest but also only do short walks..unsure of what I’m actually supposed to be doing on a daily basis.
35M, I run a non-profit animal rescue and have had back pain for several years from frequently lifting heavy things and not really having the strength for it - last Tuesday felt the POP putting on a sock and spent an hour on the floor as I couldn’t move without excruciating pain.
Took a bunch of pain meds and got an appt with the Doc the next morning - started me on 500mg Aleve 2x/day, gabapentin, and muscle relaxers. MRI on Friday confirmed herniated disc and L4-L5 bulge.
The meds take away 90% of the pain in the morning so I actually went to work on Sat/Sun and just avoided lifting anything, but by evening I’ve been in too much pain to do much.
I know I’m supposed to avoid bed rest, not lift anything, do short walks….but like, standing hurts after a few minutes like standing and doing dishes, sitting at my desk is instantly uncomfortable, sitting on the couch is uncomfortable…So if the only position that isn’t painful is laying down but I’m supposed to avoid bed rest??? I’m just not sure what to do with my entire day.
My doc wants me to do meds for 2 weeks and then if I can’t wean off of them we will start PT. I can offload the majority of my manual animal care labor, but I’m unsure if I’m supposed to be walking around work / sitting at my desk doing admin or if I should just take off work for a couple weeks - but if I do that I’ll have even less of an idea of how I’m supposed to be spending my time.
I have other health problems and a shit immune system with other conditions that cause long term inflammation so I’m terrified of this becoming a chronic thing and don’t want to mess up these early stages of recovery.
Is anyone willing to share a timeline of how much bed rest / house chores / work they did in the first month or two of recovery?