Hi first of all I can't afford to go back to a private physio for traction and it's not something that was offered to me on the NHS. I did try hanging off a pull up bar (and I know that's not the same) but it was too painful.

Re the walking, 5mins is nowhere near enough!! I could walk all day with no problems whatsoever but walking downhill is the killer. Before this injury I was used to walking out in the hills, carrying heavy weights for 10-12hrs in extreme weather! So 5mins is nothing for me even in my injured state. I try to test myself every so often as if I don't then how am I to guage how my recovery is going? But ANYTHING I do that causes compression, causes pain. Even when I tried to stay away from climbing and hillwalking and just concentrating on light walking and my stretching, the pain would still flare up from time to time.

Went for the steroid jab yesterday and great so far. Pretty much no pain left and even managed to sleep all night long, it was heavenly bliss!! So, now I just wait for the analgesic they injected to wear off and the steroid to kick in to see if it will help. If not I am going for the surgery as from what I can gather I could spend years trying various different therapies and get limited results.