If you have acute (short term) low back pain, doctors can help you by advising you to stay as active as possible, prescribing medication if the pain makes it difficult to stay active and prescribing manipulation if you need it.

But the most important steps in dealing with low back pain are the things you do to help yourself. No one else can do them for you. Its important to take the initiative and help yourself from the start.

At first you may be in a lot of pain, but remember pain can be controlled. Ask your treatment provider for pain relief and if you are having difficulty doing your usual activities, ask what help or other support and assistance is available.

Bed rest for more than two days is not good for your back- this has been proven by scientific evidence.

Most back pain gets better quickly

Fortunately, most back pain gets better quite quickly- often within a month- though it is not unusual to still have some niggles.

Keep active, set yourself goals to build up your fitness, concentrate on your core muscle strength, Pilates is great for this. Exercise and weight loss are key to back recovery if you are over weight. Statistics show that 90% of people with back pain get over it and go on to live normal lives without surgery.

What if it happens again

Many people have more than one episode of back pain, but that does not mean it's serious. You have a better chance of having a healthy back, if once you have recovered you get fit and stay fit. Being fit may stop you getting back pain again, although it may not make your pain less severe or help you recover more quickly.

Walking, cycling and swimming are for you. Nearly everyone can do at least one of them and they are free or cost very little. The keys to making exercise a success are, setting aside a little time every day and keeping it going.

10 years ago after lifting a heavy object and walking a couple of steps with it I felt an incredible pain in my lower back, all I could do was lay down to relieve the pain, but every time I moved the pain was unbearable. After seeing my GP I was prescribed anti-inflammatory tablets and physiotherapy, the main advice from the physio was keep moving, do not lay around, constant but gentle movement.

This injury only lasted 6 weeks and I kept working, once the injury seemed to go I forgot all about exercise and threw myself back into work.

Then 4 years later I slipped as I stepped out of a doorway, falling hard on the step and hitting my lower back. Off I went to the GP and physio again. This time the injury took 10 weeks to settle, again no time off work but plenty of exercise and advice from the physio to loose weight and tone up. Well not me, I just got stuck straight back into work, perhaps if I had followed the advice I would not find myself where I am now.

Today after 15 months of constant pain, 3 epidural injections, every test known to modern man I am facing major surgery, a double fusion and single disc replacement. The opioid pain killers I take when really bad ensure that I am not fully aware of things happening around me, they make you dry, high and addicted.

What have I learned from all of this, how can you avoid ending up like me, well it's simple. If you injure your back for the first time, take the advice of the health professionals, if you do not exercise, start, never stop, loose weight and pay particular care to your core muscles. These are the muscles that support your spine, they wrap around you like a corset and support your spine. Core muscles are below your ab's and need targeted exercises to activate them.

Pilates and Yoga are both great systems for strengthening your core, although Pilates is probably the best for your lower back, my friend and I started Pilates together, I started because I could not move with this injury, she started because she could not do more than 30 minutes gardening without back pain.

It has helped me, however my damage is to great and needs surgical intervention, my friend, well after 1 year of Pilates can now garden all day, carry in the shopping, play with her children without any hint of back pain!

So, keep moving, exercise, loose weight and never stop, if you are unlucky and have already reached my stage, look forward not back, be positive, join a support group and remember there is always someone worse off.