your physio knows more than your Orthopod
i had a problem a few years ago with one of the discs in my neck pressing on the nerve.i had a scan and saw a neurosurgeon who advised doing nothing and to do my activity within the pain threshold.so they all don't start rubbing their scalpels together when you walk through the door.
in order to get seen sooner you could try and speak to the consultant secretary and say you are willing to except a cancellation.
My mate says that I can do any physical exercise I like as long as I am operating within the 'pain threshold'. He says jumping down off boulder problems onto a mat will not have any effect on my dodgy disc or compressed leg nerve. The problem is getting a lot better on its own and as jumping down is not causing me any pain, he says knock yourself out, this will not impair healing in any way. Which is great news, I can boulder as much as I want .
I would just like to post some interesting thoughts on this matter following a conversation I have had with a GP mate of mine who specialises in this area for the benefit of ppl with disc problems now or in the future. - Basically, these things commonly clear up left to their own devices whether in 6 weeks or 6 months. - An MRI scan is not really required as it is not difficult to diagnose a slipped disc (eg. via the 'slump test'), any GP worth his/her salt can do this for you. - All an MRI scan will do is panic the patient as the report might say 'degeneration in the lower back' which is enough to to put the wind up anybody. - If you did a scan of the back of a random section of the population, most ppl would probably have some form of disc abnormality or latent back problem so all a scan does is create worry. - A scan may not even reveal a trapped nerve root near a disc as nerve compression is not the only way these problems can start. Apparently, chemicals can leach out of a disc and affect the nerve also which will not show up on a scan.- An MRI scan is ammunition for neurosurgeons to advocate unnecessary surgery. Apparently these guys might bully you into an op that you don't need and fuck your life up.- Seeing a neurosurgeon is therefore a bit of a waste of time unless your symptoms are really not getting better.My mate says that I can do any physical exercise I like as long as I am operating within the 'pain threshold'. He says jumping down off boulder problems onto a mat will not have any effect on my dodgy disc or compressed leg nerve. The problem is getting a lot better on its own and as jumping down is not causing me any pain, he says knock yourself out, this will not impair healing in any way. Which is great news, I can boulder as much as I want . I hope this is of some use to those suffering from a dodgy back!!
Anyone would have thought he had read this. I've plugged this article before, it's mostly aimed at GPs and to help them help people who are at risk of doing too little (rather than climbers who are more likely at risk of doing too much).