Big sympathies for what can be from totally excruciating to completely debilitating.
I had a couple of episodes of "slipped disc" as these things often got called by lay people. Lots of laying flat. Lots of drugs which made things worse ( an anaesthetised gut > constipation > additional problems). Lots of physio which gave some immediate relief, but soon wore off.
I did find a superb chiropractor, who for the first time diagnosed three separate issues. Most initiated by muscles going into spasm. He worked on them and managed to return the back to a usable level of stability, as he called it. Every so often, I required a top up. It helped he was an early adopter to trips to the Nurnbergring, long before it was the thing it is now. He would distract me with stories of derring do, juxtaposed with lively dicussions of F1 - in what was a pretty interesting period.
Since he died, I have tried several others, non of which had his touch, but did have a marketing\sales plan...
My local medical centre - being not near a metropolitan area, but a provider for many less well off folk - also includes a dentist, a chiropodist and an osteopath, among others.
The young bone cracker bloke gave me the usual massage, ultra sound and manipulation. After the disappointments of the past, I was very impressed. He also gave me a few exercises - some more for maintenance, and some to relieve the stresses causing the muscle spasms causing the spinal displacements.
They work really well, to the extent I can shovel a ton of compost with only slight, and only exertion related, aches. Not the OHMYGODOHMYGOD sort.
One I do many nights is to hook my toes over the mattress, grab the top and pull to stretch my back. Gently, not snatching, but increasing the pull on my lower back - you can feel the tightness - then gradually the knot loosens, you can get up and be fine ish. At my age, being totally fine is not often on the agenda.
There are several others, but the post is already a bit long.
One of my worst experiences was waking up while camping with my back "gone", any movement was excruciating. I was in a sleeping bag. Couldn't reach the zipper. Couldn't roll over. A mild bit of panic ensued.
