See a general physician and talk about the possibility of you herniating a disc. If it comes to it or if even casually suggested, get an MRI.

Many back injuries that turn into multiple back injuries started out as a "back strain" or whatever people tell themselves they think it was. The only thing you can do to help prevent further injury is by strengthening your core and there is no magical formula to this. Back extensions, obliques, abs, crunches, and cable pull-downs are just a few of the exercises to get you to a stronger core.

Most back injuries are a result of the improper posture caused by weak core muscles. Unfortunately with age your core deteriorates faster than your primary lifting muscles. It's a natural design flaw.

You need to determine the amount of damage in your back. L3-L5 are the 3 most commonly damaged vertebrate discs. The lighter the injury the greater chance of a near-full recovery. But just be very clear on something: if you have ANY damage to one of your discs, you will NEVER fully recover. You have to hammer that fact into your head moving forward. The more you know about your injury the better protected you will be against further injury.

The most disappointing news I've ever received in my life was the fact that at the age of 29 I have suffered from permanent, irreparable back damage.

It may be nothing. It's probably not though. Either way, don't spare any expense at this stage, or at any stage where you experience any type of back pain. It's VERY easy to recover from a mildly slipped disc - only to worsen it from lack of knowledge.