Patrick I feel your pain, mine is just lower in the L5 region. A hernaited disc hurts like He!! trust me, but a ruptured one will hurt worse. Take a few days and allow it to heal up alittle. Don't just go with what a MD tells you, GO SEE a chiroprator!!! A regular MD might want to just open you up, and a chiropractor will realign you!! And they have told me for over 10 years that I should not be in the boat, especially during rough water for what it could do to my back. Screw that!!!!! I'm not going to stop fishing because of it!! You do what you want to, but I know how you feel!! Mine still hurt pretty bad from throwing it out 3 weeks ago!!!!