If you're unlucky, every movement will cause agony. Even coughing will pose a problem.
One thing you probably won't experience with a permanently slipped disk is tackle football. Especially on the college level, which is hard enough when you're healthy.
Moe was the workhorse for an MSU-Northern program that posted a 7-3 record. He played not for full-ride scholarship money or publicity, but for the love of the game, savoring every minute of his final season - aches and all.
“You only get to play college football once in your life,” said the senior, whose team is clinging to slim playoff hopes, “and giving it up was never really an option for me.
“Maybe when I know it's over I'll have surgery. But it's not something I've worried about. I've iced it down, had stem treatments and acupuncture ... It got to the point where I didn't even really feel hits during a game. Yeah, you wake up sore the next day, but that's part of the fun, looking at the bruises and cuts and wondering where you got them.”
That may sound demented to the hypochondriac down the street who wears a surgeons' mask when he mows his lawn. But football does funny things to a guy.
It forces grandpas to keep high school jerseys they haven't worn in 60 years. It compels fans to trek nine hours from Plentywood to Missoula in tough economic times to regularly watch the Griz play.
By its brutal nature, football is also a great way to measure character.
Moe has been dealing with a disk problem since he was a kid. But getting the OK to participate in Little Grizzly football was nothing compared to getting cleared to play in high school.
“I had a bunch of MRIs, then finally a doctor in Billings cleared me to play,” he said of his freshman year at Florence. “My back is always sore, but you deal with it.”
Moe's condition has been a hindrance in the weight room, but you'd never guess at game time.
“Probably the most amazing thing about him is he's not allowed to lift heavy in squats and cleans,” MSU-Northern coach Mark Samson said. “Yet when you watch him play, he's very strong.”
As the first Lights running back to enjoy a 1,000-yard rushing season (1,090) since the football program was reinstated in 1998, Moe has been Mr. Consistent. Two and a half seasons of special teams duty left the Havre hero with a Brett Favre-like appreciation of his starting job, and he took advantage with each carry.
Moe first started showing signs of his potential midway through his junior season, amassing 100 rushing yards in four of Northern's last six games. Looking back, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound dynamo believes he finally got comfortable with the pace of the game.
Still, no one expected Moe, with average footspeed for a running back, to ever lead the league in rushing. Except maybe Moe himself.
“It's been pretty awesome,” said the honors student. “I read the holes and do this weird jump-cut that has worked for me, and I try to never let one guy bring me down.
“My downhill speed might not be the best, but I try to use lateral quickness.”
No one hates to see Moe move on more than Samson, a Griz alum and former football coach at Loyola Sacred Heart.
“My feelings for Justin go way beyond what he brings to our team,” said Samson, who also coaches Moe's younger brother Damon, a freshman wideout/defensive back. “When Justin joined us four years ago, I wasn't sure he would ever become the player he is.
“He's one of the best student-athletes I have ever had the privilege of coaching.”
Most football role models around these parts wear maroon and silver and practice in Missoula. But there's one on the Montana Hi-Line we should also keep in mind.
He also wears maroon. He's never played in front of 25,000 screaming fans, but at age 22 he's already foiled a Grizzly-sized foe: Chronic pain.
Sports columnist Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
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