croq wrote:

And finally if you can find one, a good deep tissue
massage therapist.
You'll know if it's good in short order at least after
the initial pain of
the massage goes away in a day or two.

I will second this one. Injured my back many years ago.
Chiropractic helped some for a bit. Was treated on Workman's
Comp. Discovered deep tissue massage worked wonders and so
for a year I had one every week. Until Workman's Comp pulled
the plug and came up with a settlement. Though she no longer
practices, this diminutive Indian lady had magic hands.
Managed one day to work on my spine, through my abdomen,
which felt -really- strange! There were some sessions I felt
like I was near weightless for an hour or so afterward. Try
to find someone that has experience working with back
injuries. If after 2-3 sessions it doesn't seem to be
working, try someone else.

And the examiner that my attorney sent me to for my
disability evaluation showed me an exercise that helped some
also. Stand with your back up against the wall. Tighten your
abdomen muscles and rotate the small of your back outward
until it touches the wall. The way this works affects the
diaphragm, he stressed it was REAL important to keep
breathing else my blood pressure would spike. Can't say for
sure if this would be of any help to you, so approach with
caution.

About 5 years ago my back went out. I was just standing
still, talking to my dad. Next thing I knew there was an
explosion of pain and I fell to the ground. Dad's seen
people hit by sniper fire and said later that's exactly what
I looked like, someone shot in the back. Took months to
recover from that, and never did get a clue what triggered it.

Overall my back is in good shape now. Never again 100%, but
I can do most of what I want to. Moved a 4000lb mill 20 feet
into my garage by myself. Working on my car bent over
though, is about the worst thing I can do.

Good luck!

Jon