I suffered a work-place accident a couple of years ago (catching a couple of G sized oxy cylinders has that effect) it resulted in a stuffed back and as a result my car racing had to cease, which was a good thing as it turned out because it brought me back to sailing

Luckily I have a great Dr. (a very cute SHE Dr. too ) who insisted on me walking & swimming every day... slow 4x4 off-road driving also helped in many suprising ways as I improved....
Walking from one side of the room to the other was initally a huge challenge
It took me 3 weeks of short walks to be able to get to the letter box and back in one shot
At week 8 after the accident I did my first full 1 kilometer walk ( then called for a taxi to get home )

I now walk ~5k's a day

Swimming was much easier on the body, it was more a case of just time in the pool than doing laps that helped



My back is now in the best "expected" condition it can be and I dont suffer much from the injury nowdays at all, mind you, I take every step possible NOT to repeat the experiance