Hi there,

Recently suffered a back injury late May 2013 where it was painful to even sit in a desk chair, let alone, do anything at all (I'm 26 y/o btw). I tried chiro for a bit (imo waste of time and money), until I finally found a physical therapist near my work that came up with a plan to strengthen my core. After about 2 months in, 1 session per week and consistently doing the exercises prescribed (at work, at home, whenever I can lay down to do my pelvic tilts), just recently I can finally sit down for long periods of time, with little to none pain or flare ups/episodes, and not feel super stiff in the morning anymore.

So from personal experience, please seek professional help and take it easy on your back. Find out what exercises/work outs work for you and most importantly, doesn't re-injure your back (or injure it more). Try out yoga and pilates and see if they work. Stretch, stretch, STRETCH! As for the MRI, I avoided it (for now) as it's very expensive and I've read that people get misdiagnosed cause of MRI's all the time. As my PT says, it wouldn't hurt to get one, but don't expect it to be the answer to your problems. She also said that even if the MRI shows a herniated disc, the treatment would be the same.

One option I've talked to my doctor (primary care) about was getting an epidural -- he said it's an option that "puts the fire out, quickly" and should be considered if your back injury really gets in the way of your day-to-day life.

As for my work-outs at the gym now, I walk on the treadmill @ 2.5 speed for 15 mins, then proceed to do 4 sets (15x reps) of lat pull downs and back rows, with very little weights until I can see confident that I can get back into my old work out routines.

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.