I'm a lifelong back pain sufferer, falling down a flight of stairs at 15 from slippery leather sole shoes is what started. Its always there but as far as the doc tells me there is no structural damage. I get a sciatic nerve jab every so often and my back is alway a bit stiff but with some chiropractic ( yes I was always skeptical) and stretching I'm pretty good at 59 now. The best investment I've made was a sleep number bed. Expensive? You bet your backside but the first night I slept on it and didn't wake up with stinging pain in my back I thought this is what I've been missing. I spent over 25 years finding the right mattress. Everything from waterbeds to the best the major mattress makers had to offer. Nothing did the trick till this one. I loved the tempupedic but I sleep warm and thought I was going to bake in it. Its a fine bed too but just didn't work for me. Good luck with the recovery