I am sorry to hear your in pain. I know how debilitating it can be. Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC is consistently ranked number 1 in orthopedics in the U

I am sorry to hear your in pain. I know how debilitating it can be. Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC is consistently ranked number 1 in orthopedics in the US. They have spine surgeons and neurosurgeons who excel in implementing mechanical solutions. Perhaps I should have mentioned first that the pain clinic at HSS is fabulous for diagnostics and they are extremely conservative when it comes to opioids. Getting a proper diagnosis is essential. I was diagnosed incorrectly for years before learning my underlying problem was a spondylolisthesis. Appropriate imaging studies (x-ray, MRI, CT, myelogram as needed) read by superb radiologists will get you a clearer picture of what is really going on. Surgery may or may not be required. It all depends on the cause. If your doctor recommends diet and exercise/PT be relentless with your implementation of the program (being mindful of what your body tells you). Finally I would have to say that my sister who is an MD helped me realize one very important thing. The susceptible human back gets "tweaked" from time to time. If your back goes into spasm for a couple of days once in a while (and deelowe I am speaking more generally here than of your specific circumstance) you could spend tons of time running it to ground, when it the long run a form of radical acceptance may bring greater peace of mind. Accepting - I am a person whose back fails me from time to time forcing me to be debilitated for a few days may be less anxiety provoking and frustrating. Good doctors can help you decide what option is best. As Aaron Sorkin said in the Steve Jobs meeting, and I think it applies to all of us, accepting "I am not well made" can be useful to all of us.