I will say it again. Do it all!

Get accupunture for the pain, chiropractic for the allignment, massage for
the relaxation and to allow your muscles to relax to where they should be
and physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles and hold things in place.

Do it all if you don't like pain.

Said it befdore & I'll say it again.  I would first try massage therapy
by way of Clair Davies' book "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook",
subtitled "Your Self-Treatment Guide For Pain Relief". specifically
Chapter 8.  He uses a different message technique than either Bonnie
Prudden's "Myotherapy" or the Oriental form of "Accupressure".

Although I'm not bothered by chronic pain at all, I do occasionally get
acute pain from overexertion, including low back pain, knee & shoulder
pain, I find that I can eradicate all amazingly quickly by using the
instructions in Mr. Davies' book. And beyond the book's very modest
price, it doesn't cost me a dime.  You can possibly even first check it
out from a library.

Forget the surgery until you have exhausted ever know method known to man
and woman. Seen it and it usually doesn't help. Can you say "arthritis. they
opened me up and let it in"?

See a Chiropractic Doctor and a Physiotherapist for proper exercises and
spinal alignment.

Sciatica is only a common nerve problem and it comes out two places in the
spine. The rest of the alignment problems will not affect it.

For almost immediate relief get yourself an inversion machine and build up
to 4-5 minutes per night before bed. Put an icepack on the afflicted joint
right before falling asleep to reduce disk swelling. Drink lots of water to
rehydrate the disks. Do NOT get an operation as the disks can mostly
contract again like a swollen bruise does once the problem is corrected.

Take care of it and in a few years you will have forgotten about it and
gotten on with your life. You have to modify a few ways you do some things
but you can do it. Do it all, pamper yourself.

I just don't know what to do but I am going crazy.

I have had on and off back-pain since 1994.  I am 36 years old and
have no idea what may have caused the onset in the first place.  There
are occasions when my entire lower back will seize up and at that
point, it takes me 3 or 4 minutes to roll over in bed!  This complete
sieze-up has occurred about 4 times since 2000 and each time, after
the initial onset, the recovery is a couple of weeks where I can
gradually, get up more easily, them move around more easily, etc but I
am typically laid up for 4 straight days when it first comes on.

Right now, I am in pain when I sit upright, or when I stand from a
sitting position.  Once I get up and slowly stretch my lower back by
leaning arching my back a little bit, I am fine (as long as I don't
bend over).

A couple of years ago, I went to an osteopath and on my first visit, I
was a new man!  This lasted for about a year or so where I had almost
no indication of pain at all doing anything including bending over,
lifting, etc.  Then my situation came back and the last time I went to
see him in Sept 2003, he was not able to perform the same magic.  He
had said that my S1 joint was frozen or something like that but he
wasn't able to fix it the last time I went.

Just a couple of days ago, I went to an orthopedic doctor and he said
that my muscles are weak and that is what is causing all of my
problems.  I have tried to exercise during times of good back and
quite often, the execises would aggravate my situation so I would no
longer have a good back so of course, I would discontinue them.

I just don't know what to believe because if my problem was caused by
weak muscles, why is it that on my initial visit to the osteopath, I
was completely cured for a long while???  I just want to have a normal
back.  I mean, I can't do anything anymore.  I can't swing a golf
club, run around (without being very aware of my movements)...  I am
36 and I have a lot more living to do and I would like to have a
decent back!  I would even contemplate surgery on a bulging disk (that
I do have according to an MRI) but it seems that if there is no
sciatica, there is no disk problem (right? comments please...).

Anyway, does anyone out there have a similar story or want to throw
some advice my way?

Thanks
Bob