Okay, I'm getting a new perspective on my back pain: I can only manage it, I can't cure it.

Curing it is beyond my power, and is hereby remanded to the realm of the ecstatic supernatural. Managing, however, is completely within my purview, and I shall pursue it with moderate effort. (Perfectionist thoughts, like "I'll manage it all the time" are defeating, and so will not be documented here.)

How to manage? Well, here's what's been working lately (apologies for inconsistent verb tenses and other constructions):

• muscle relaxants when I'm in spasm
• ibuprofen for inflammation, a few nights or days a week
• postural adjustments during work and leisure
• stretches
• hiking with some weight in a waist pack that rests on my sacrum
• keep moving, don't sit for long
• position my camping pillow under my waist while sleeping on my side
• sleep on a couch, or keep my futon folded like a couch (I've gone so far as to position my foam mattress half on the bed frame, half against the wall, to simulate couch-surfing)
• hug a body pillow
• codeine when the pain is really bad (only about 3 days a month)
• work on abdominal muscle strengthening, using the OmGym so I don't put more pressure on my spine
• watch every South Park episode ever, via www.allsp.com
• eat something delicious (which I'm off to do in a few minutes)

That's all I've got for now.