Since 07 developed constant back pain. in 2009 a surgeon's diagnosis was arthritic bone spurs. He said do chiro, physio, pilates, yoga, chant,burn incense, hold crystals, whatever floats your boat, but come back when the pain gets too bad so I can fuze your spine. GP's handed out painkillers. Later they took some of them back for side effects like strokes, liver cancer and heart attacks. Doing any physical activity means pain for 24-48 hours. Sailing one day I met a cat sailor and pain management specialist. New X-rays show one leg is 9mm short. So he gave me foam pads for one heel and stretches. 3 minutes of pigeon pose each side, small knee lifts,knee to chest. It is Bloody Agony stretching groin, glutes and hamstring muscles after a rough night. I had an immediate improvement sleeping and a drop in pain, but muscle spasms have returned. The best help ever besides hot packs is a spiked ball to lie on to target tight muscle groups. It hurts like hell when you find the right spots (there's always 4 or 5) but pain and tightness eases in minutes. Now trying to do the ball chart, crunches, pilates 100's, knee lifts. Sad to say can't hold a plank for 30 seconds but working on it. It is a good pain now and hoping for a vast improvement at long last.
cheers