I had a herniated disc but was able to avoid surgery or shots. It took a lot of patience with quite a bit of pain until someone suggested I read a book by Robin McKenzie about exercises known as the McKenzie Method for alleviating back pain. At first I was dubious that the simple exercises would reaaly help but they did and after a short while I was pain free and still am after 3 years.
Yes, back pain can be debilitating so I 've learned that the older I get the wiser I have to be in how I do things. I'm 71 and looking forward to doing some backpacking again next summer.