Disclaimer: this is in no way an official medical opinion, nor does it in any way represent the medical institution by which I am employed, nor has it been endorsed by my employers in any way.
Now that we have that out of the way, let me say that the physiotherapy comments are likely the best bet for your money (or that of your insurance company). Often times when patients are injured they suffer both bony injuries and soft-tissue injuries. Other times they have one, but not the other. While bony injuries typically heal within 8 weeks if they are straightforward, soft tissue injuries or their sequelae may persist for much, much longer.
First, when the ST are injured, particularly the ST associated with the spine, the patient develops postures and movements that are not anatomic or efficient and ultimately end up prolonging the pain. These movements and postures cause the spine to act in ways that put the muscles at a mechanical disadvantage. Muscles that act in this manner for prolonged periods hurt. This problem is exacerbated if there is scarring within the soft-tissue or its sheath/fascia.
Second, in general, most people have inadequate back musculature. We concentrate on strenghthening our abs all the time, but at the expense of our backs. In addition, most of the movements that are a part of our daily life involve forward flexion of the spine rather than extension which reinforces this imbalance. Add an injury into the mix and the weak muscles have an even harder time maintaining the body upright without pain.
Lastly, the head weighs a significant amount compared to the rest of the body. It is held in place by a vast array of muscles. Injure any of these muscles and you suddenly figure out just how heavy your head really is. The problem with this and with the back is that the more pain you have, the more you want to learn bad habits to avoid the pain, however, these only work in the short term and eventually your pain returns even worse than before.
What is the upshot? Definitely stretching for sure to start. Your muscles work better if they are flexible and the stretching serves to break up and eliminate, or at least minimize, the scar tissue and adhesions that limit the muscles range of motion. The other thing is ab AND back strenghthening, in other words....core stability. If you have a strong core (front and back) then you will have much less back discomfort associated with injury and pain that lasts a much shorter duration than it would otherwise.
Chiropractors work in the short term (I'm sure that they will jump all over me for saying so, but the chiro-ortho debate will not be solved here) because they assist in stretching the muscles which temporarily eases the pain since relaxed musculature allows a more favourable alignment of the spine. However, without repeated stretching exercises programs (4 times a day, 3 sets of ten stretches/exercises, every day until long after the pain has resolved), you are unlikely to eliminate the pain for any duration.
The prescription pain meds mask the pain and therefore the problem, but do not get to the root of the issue so are prone to failure. Furthermore, as the problem gets worse and as the body develops a tolerance to the pain medication/narcotic, more narcotic is required to attain the same pain relief effect. A vicious, vicious cycle that is not likely to get better.
As has already been said, the bottom line is hardcore physiotherapy. Keep in mind that even that too will hurt while you ask your muscles to do something that they haven't been able to do for a long time. However, if you can knuckle down and bear it out, it will get better, and that is as good a guarantee as a physician can give.
The ball is in your court brother.
R
