Hi Robert,

I sympathise as I am with you here. I also suffer from back pain due to wear in the lower back vertebrae and like you have been advised by a surgeon that the available surgical fixes can create more problems than they cure.

I was given a course of Pilates exercises that strengthen the lower abdominal muscles, these give support to the lower spine and tend to deteriorate in strength as we get older. By exercising these I have found some improvements.

Worth a try!