After a few months of steadily increasing your distance running, and being well in all areas of your life, such as diet, sleep, meditation, etc., there really is no limit to how much one could run barefoot (and when I say barefoot, after the first few steps, I’m including very minimal shoes, like the Merrell Trail Gloves and Vivo Barefoot Vivos).

I just saw I hadn’t responded yet. I feel your pain. L4/5 is exactly where I had a herniation which strangled the sciatica. Terrible pain that darn nerve can cause. I am certain it was poor running form from very large (and expensive) running shoes that caused my disc to get particularly bad. And it was barefoot running that enabled me to run again. Now, mind you, I had surgery to extract the disc matter and give my nerve room to “breathe” again. I am certain without that I couldn’t have done anything without severe pain. I am no doctor and don’t know exactly what a tear means. I would follow your body and start off by walking completely barefoot. Even with Merrells you are missing important proprioceptive information that is vital to help you discover a good form. Make sure you land forefoot before your heel. It’ll soften your landing. Test the difference out by sticking your fingers in your ears and listening to what it sounds like to land heel first. Then switch to forefoot first. You can literally hear the difference. Believe me, your back will feel the difference, as any shock will go straight up to the L4/5 disc region.

If you feel you can walk no problem, without aggravation, try a very short (10 feet at first) running. Take it incredibly slowly and listen to your back. Continue to ramp up slowly if you feel comfortable with it. Going barefoot will ensure you also have bent knees which help you land even more softly.

Again, this is what I would do, not advice, as I really have no idea what will work for you.

Let me know how it goes.