[ronb]

I've had serious L4/L5 sacrum problems - herniation, bulging, tearing, etc (after a few very traumatic injuries). I explored surgery several times, but decided to stick with physical therapy and am glad I did (I now can run or bike as long as I want to, lift heavy weights and objects, etc.) My course of therapy was a lot of cranio-sacral work, acupuncture, but most importantly (and still for mainatenence and strength) yoga, pilates, and swimming. To start with, working with a physical therapist.

Avoid cutting your body open and removing parts unless you've exhausted all other possibilites (including even losing that extra 15 pounds...it makes a huge difference in how your back will feel).

There's a lot of info out there about this, and not all of it is in concordance, but many MRIs will show herniated, torn, ruptured etc disks...and many people who have them have perfect functionality and no pain. Merely having a detailed picture of whats in there, is not always a sign of whats going on. And having seen recent MRIs of my spine, with the same herniations, and absolutely no pain (and in fact quite a lot more strength than I've ever had) a surgeon reccomended immediate surgery. So...go carefully.