TCB, have you tried magnets? Before you think I'm some new age wacko, we started using these when DH had a bad case of tendonitis. Nothing helped...cortisone shots, etc. and he was desperate. He mentioned it to someone at our coffee shop, and a guy in line who was a Nikken distributor said "here, try this" and put an elbow wrap and magnet on Greg's elbow. It relieved his pain after a few minutes and he became a big believer in it. They make back belts that hold larger magnetic pads. This helped my mom so much that we decided to become "dealers", so we could buy their stuff at cost. We only buy for us and friends and family and DH has no interest in pursuing it as a business, but if you're interested in trying it, he could get you something at his cost.