I was sorry to hear about your wife's disc problem. My wife had a bad episode some years back and eventually had to resort to surgery, the sciatic pain having become unbearable. Luckily we discovered that the surgery could be minimally invasive - keyhole, in fact, to simply remove the detritus from the burst disc (L5) which was pressing on the sciatic nerve. A few hours later and she was out of bed and pain free. 

I have suffered from a more generalised lower back pain most of my adult life, but many years ago I discovered a morning stretch which I do every day and which I believe really helps. It was explained in a book by an Australian physiotherapist called Sarah Key. It's been brilliant for me. I later discovered an article in an NHS primary care journal which explains in detail how it works, and which I have attached (sorry for poor quality). It's dead easy to do. You can order Sarah's "back block"(for the stretch)  from her web site, though I bought good back block mats from yogamatters.com. Perhaps this may be useful to add to your other subscriber's excellent recommendations.

And 

Just read the back stuff. I’ve had multiple back surgeries including a fusion. The basic stuff is out patient and like going to the dentist. You are fine the next day and pain is gone at the moment your eyes open. The world of back surgery deniers are living in the 1984. I tried everything else. Had surgery way later than I should have. 

Insurance companies had a rule and most likely still do that you must try 3 non-invasive courses before they would pay for back surgery. This started for me in the later 1990s. Then with any type of work you were taking a chance. Now it’s quick and simple. A fusion is much more difficult but even then you are walking the same day and home the next. 

And 

I can testify that core exercises to strengthen the lower back muscles and also the stomach muscles are easy to do and really work. Nearly 40 years ago, two different surgeons told me I had to have an operation, including disc infusion or removal.  With the core exercises I avoided all that and have had no back problems subsequently.  

The other exercise, which soon becomes automatic, is never bend over, let alone to lift something, without tightening your stomach muscles.  

Eoin Treacy's view

Thanks to every subscriber who has shared their experience of back pain. It’s a dizzying learning curve but Mrs. Treacy has been greatly helped by all the well wishes shared by the Collective. 

I’m happy to report she is making steady progress following a cortisone injection last week. She had an MRI this week which confirmed a tear in her S5/L1 disc. While time will tell whether this problem is long lasting, stretching and exercise are beneficial in their own right and cost nothing. 

Thankfully surgical procedures are improving all the time should one be required. One encouraging statistic is that the majority of herniated discs resolve on their own within six weeks. If she is lucky enough to be in that category a stretching and muscle strengthening regime would make eminent sense and I believe should form part of any long-term solution.