Compressed discs mostly but you start to learn what muscles in your back really need full body movement regularly or that weakening starts to kick your ass. Without some expensive surgery that I still can't afford, I've been fixing it with a weight lifting regiment. I'm lucky, a friend is a physical therapist. So, I just owe him beer.

Even have a year of hard dedication to dealing with it, I still "feel" it and get some flares. As long as I'm always careful about my posture when doing things, I can mitigate it. Like, I don't pick up my keys by bending my back, I have to crouch or I risk getting a flare up of pain for the next day or two. But before trucking, I never had to be "thoughtful" of my back.

Ah! I guess the difference when you're a programmer is, both could be described as spending all day sitting, but if you're at a keyboard, you can get up and walk around now and then; sounds like that matters a lot, extended over the months and years.

Best of luck with the recovery.

I'm currently a programmer as well.

Yes, at any point, I can go "I should take a 5 min walk around" or just stretch my legs, which I do relatively often. Most "sitting" jobs have that luxury. Even just stretching your arms out is a luxury. Always one hand has to be on that wheel in a confined area.

I'm sure you've already tried this, but here go my two cents about back pain.

My job is also sitting for 12 hours a day (although much better regulated and not as damaging as yours).

Try stretching your psoas, look for gymnastics, cycling or dance stretching. It's been the only thing that has helped me. I started having problems to straighten each morning, constant pain in the lumbar zone, bulging disc. A job partner told me about the psoas stretching and it works! It's the only thing that can make the pain go away. I'm telling everybody I know now! And usually helps a lot.

I only need to stretch it once a week but I must be constant if I fail to do it, the pain slowly returns.

One doctor said ( forgot who it was ) that back problems is the next generation cigarette Problem.

If you can do it without the surgery, do. Think of back surgery as a temporary partial fix with a high failure rate. Best avoided until you have literally exhausted other options.