I feel your pain (sort'a).
I started having lower back pain last year, and this summer I started having nearly unbearable leg pain. I was diagnosed with two bulged disks in my lower back (lumbar degenerative disc disease)... bulged disks do not heal, a degenerative disk is simply a worn-out disk (a herniated disk is a torn or damaged disc that will heal). The leg pain (which, for me, is many times worse than the back pain) is because the bulging discs are pinching both the the nerves that go to my legs, and the blood vessels that feed the nerves.
"They" tell me surgery is not a realistic option at this time... but may be at some point in the future. Surgery normally means removing the disk and fusing the vertebra... which limits mobility and can cause other pain issues.
I still do everything I've always done... I just do them a bit slower, a bit more carefully, and take more breaks as the pain dictates... getting older sucks.
As far as making firewood, I made myself a pickaroon to limit the amount of bending over I do... and I use my pole saw with one of the pole sections removed to de-limb/de-brush and cut smaller stuff without bending or reaching as much.
What's with the torn ligament?? That's usually from some sort of injury... and will usually heal given enough time.
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