I want to second the writer who recommended swimming and pilates. I have tried various drug regimes - currently amitryptillin and gabapentin -and they do seem to dull the pain but I have experienced the most long-lasting relief and improved mental wellbeing from swimming and pilates. I signed up for swimming lessons to learn front crawl - since breaststroke can exacerbate back problems - and I still attend weekly. I take pilates classes twice a week and do 15 minutes of pilates/physio exercises every morning. Perhaps it is the experience of being able to do something for myself rather than being a passive drugtaker that helps. GPs should recommend both of these activities to patients - and why not some RCTs too?

Competing interests: None declared