I had a partial discectomy 4 years ago and made a full recovery and was able to continue running and competing in half marathons. About a month ago I woke up in the morning with severe lower left back pain and was almost unable to get out of bed. I saw an osteopath who prescribed pain killers and anti-inflammatories for what he diagnosed as an inflamed ligament and told me to take things easy for a few weeks. I had to visit my GP to get a stronger painkiller than the non prescription tablets I had been taking which hardly reduced the pain. He referred me to the physiotherapy department at the local hospital where I was given some exercises to work on and told to return in two weeks. My main concern is that I have difficulty walking as the pain is worse then, but also that I am unable to put any weight whatsoever.on the ball of my left foot so there is no spring in my step and I hobble along as if my foot is injured. My question is whether the strength in my foot will return when I recover from the lower back problem?