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I herniated L4/L5 over 30 years ago. Like Jolisse there was no way I was going to have the surgery. You asked if anyone modified what they did. I was training and showing horses when I hurt my back. Getting dumped off of one is probably what caused the hernia. I did modify somethings that I did. example - I let someone else lift bags of feed (50 pounds) and bales of hay (60+ pounds). I hired someone to clean the stalls. I slept on the floor for almost a year.
An ortho doc I saw about the problem told me I needed to "learn to live with it." At the time I thought he meant the pain. Ticked me off royally. Eventually I realized he meant to learn to live with the problem. I've done that. I've changed the way I clean stalls. I use a dolly to move things around the barn. I wear a back brace at times. It keeps my back straight and offers support. I experimented until I found a mattress that offers the right kind of support.
For the most part I have little/no pain now, but there are days it hurts like bloody blue blazes and I can't identify a reason why.
You mentioned anything "resembling a deadlift" sets if off. That kind of bending is guaranteed to have me cursing from the pain. The simple solution is to not do that. If I need to get something off the floor I squat to get it.
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