Pain made worse by movement is likely to be musculoskeletal and should improve with specific exercises.Once it has been determined by your doctor that your pain is musculoskeletal you can start an exercise program.Pain not made worse by movement,severe pain or pain not improved with these exercises within two weeks should be evaluated by your doctor.
Our spines have three curves ,forward in the neck and low back, and backwards in the chest area.The vertebrae are like cotton spools threaded together and held in the correct position by muscles and ligaments.Prolonged abnormal posture stretches a joint and ligament.Pain results.Use your own middle finger as example.Stretch it backwards.After a while it hurts (sprain).Now jerk the finger backwards.The sudden movement causes pain and can tear the finger ligaments ( a sprain).In the healing process scar tissue and adhesions (microscopic scar tissue) forms and if not in the correct position,the area will heal in the wrong position,making the posture and pain worse.
Muscle imbalances,a weak muscle opposing a strong one,will keep the spine in an abnormal position.This program is to find the specific problem in you and do exercises targeted at stretching tight muscles in spasm and building up weak ones.You may have more than one problem and need to do exercises for more than one muscle group.You will need to wear comfortable loose clothes that fit at the waist to do any exercise program.
I recommend either Mackenzie exercises or the back pain program from www.losethebackpain.com. These exercises should be done daily,improvement expected in a week.If you are sore or painful stop the exercises fo 2 days or more till the pain and soreness go away.Build up to doing the exercises again.If you hurt after 1,stop and add one stretch at a time instead of doing 3-5 right away.Many times the problem that caused your original pain is still there so you may need to do these exercises from time to time or daily to keep your muscles in balance. Once you are better,keep moving,keep the right body position,lift correctly and keep stretching to keep your back healthy.