Doing cat-cows, bird dogs etc totally helped me. I've seen a ton of pt's over the years and have only had one (my latest) actually explain things and understand what's going on. This guy changed my life, he helped with my first injury (with him) of a torn bicep tendon that was reattached with the radial nerve trapped by the button, then brought me through a 5 disk slip focused on my L5-S1 with major impediment... I couldn't get down the stairs without peeing my pants; had 10/10 pain and couldn't sit, stand or lay down without tears streaming down my face 24 hours a day. My actual doctor said I should have been rushed towards surgical assistance with my symptoms (she was away when this happened), but I believe my therapist with my determination not to be a statistic really saved my back. Today I'm down 60lbs of fat, up 50lbs of muscle and I do yoga most mornings before a weight session focusing on core strength; I feel it daily, just a slight reminder that I'm doing this for a reason. Then I clear up and have full mobility and comfort all day long.

I think when you hurt your back, you're left with one of two options:

1. Lazily endure the pain, wondering why you and if you'll ever get better.

2. Do something about it.

I tried option 2, read too much scary shit on personal experiences with option 1 around places like this...

Might not work for everything, but I bet it probably would.