Mr Love, sorry to hear it...

The best advice I got was from a physical therapist from Hawaii (instant windsurfing cred!) who told me...ah, let me see...brain not so good these days...

That's right. Rest, rest, rest. Ice packs for the first few days, then possibly gentle massage AROUND but NOT ON the affected area. Stretching, but again NOT to the affected area. If anything hurts, don't do it. More rest. Drugs may mask the pain but they aren't fixing it; only rest will do that. But by all means smoke a bong. Think long term. You are in a dark tunnel but you WILL come out of it. One day you will start to feel better, and slowly, day by day, you will start to remember what it's like to be normal. If you ever were normal to begin with , that is.

Good luck!

If no numbness or shooting pains down the legs there won't be any danger from gentle rotations after the inflammation has eased in a week or so. My misery was compounded and extended for many months by the completely seized network of strong back muscles fighting each other because I was afraid of any movement. Yet not one my the several specialists ever mentioned it.
Keep positive- it is trying to fix itself.