Back Pain

I've been battling back pain for years. It started out very infrequently when I would "sleep wrong" or something. It would be stiff for a day or two and go away. As I got older, it became more and more frequent. It was manageable and the good days outnumbered the bad. Well, about 3-4 years ago I threw it out playing basketball in the driveway with my kids. I felt it tightening up and within an hour or two I couldn't even walk. It too went away after a few days but the frequency is steadily getting worse. It's to the point now that the good days no longer outnumber the bad.



I pretty much deal with this every day now. My back is really tight when I first stand up and it hurts to bend over, but it's still manageable except for the worst days. I've been to the orthopedics and they say it's back spasms. I've been to the chiropractor and it doesn't really help. I'm not in terrible shape in terms of fitness but I could stand to lose a few more pounds (I recently lost almost 25) and I have tried the core strengthening route. I'm at the point now where I want to see someone who specializes in this sort of thing. My hope is that maybe we can try some injections or something. Surgery is not an option right now and would be an absolute last resort in the future.



What I'm looking for is people with personal experience who can give advice on where to go and who to see. I'm not looking for some crackpot pain management center.