I found this gave assistance - it puts a slight stretch on the spine, that you can control and stop instantly.

Lie on floor or other flat firm surface (warm, not cold) with knees raised.

Try (don't push to the point of hurting yourself!) to get the small of your back on the floor.

If/when you can achieve that, you can increase the stretch by gradually dropping first one knee to the floor, then the other so that both knees are eventually flat on the floor.

RELAX!

This will put a gentle steady controllable spinal tension in place you can lift a knee immediately at anytime if you want - even with both knees raised, the effort of putting the whole spine flat helps - if your spinal muscles are very tight, you may have difficulty in achieving the 'small of back on floor' at first - relax and take it gently.

Don't overdo this - and also try to keep weight off your spine as much as possible.


As I said - been there, done that, got the T-shirt to prove it...

and best of luck...

Trust me - I thought I was gonna die too - the doc's advice about watching for any serious symptoms should not panic you - he just doesn't want you to ignore any serious signs!