At forty-five, I suffered a herniated disc with sciatica, caused by a fall down the stairs where I slid down five steps and landed on my legs—in twelve-centimeter-high heels. The impact primarily damaged the lower intervertebral disc, the disc that supports the spine. The first 24 hours were excruciating. I could only run around the house in pain. At the hospital, I was told I would have to "go through it myself," because surgery was only considered for long-term, acute sympt