Well, everyone is different, but as a 57 y.o. guy with a history of back problems, and as a practicing Acupuncturist (lordie knows I'd never make it on my musical abilities) I can say with certainty that a lot of people recover from injuries like this. Most of them do, actually. Disks heal, though slowly. You can throw all sorts of therapies at the problem, and any of them may help. I'd say he should avoid getting suckered into spending excess amounts of time and money on any one program. At the risk of offending anyone here, Chiropractors seem to have a knack for subjecting patients to more treatment than is really necessary, though they can and do really help in many cases. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that acupuncture can help a lot, especially in the acute phase of the condition. Physical Therapy is great for helping to figure out what one's weaknesses and predispositions are, but it takes the effort to actually do one's exercises to get maximum benefit.
And lastly, avoid making any hasty decision to go the surgical route, though some badly blown disks are going to need it eventually. It doesn't sound like that's being considered at this time. . It's wonderful when it is truly called for, but people are generally better working through the process of giving themselves time to heal before taking that step.
Not very definite, I know,but hey, that's how I roll. Hope it helps.
