Steroid injections offer temporary relief, but almost never cure back problems. Strength training requires supervised exercising against progressively greater resistance one to three times a week. Stretching includes daily stretching of the back and leg muscles. Deep massage can be so painful and so irritating to the skin that it often is done only once a week. Superficial light skin massage has not been shown to help cure back pain.
Manipulation can relax muscles that have gone into spasm and effectively help relieve pain.
BW Nelson, DM Carpenter, TE Dreisinger, M Mitchell, CE Kelly, JA Wegner. A prospective study of cervical and lumbar patients. Dr. Mirkin's opinions and the references cited are for information only, and are not intended to diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.