I also have a bad back and I have found that when it starts to act up you need to take ibuprofen regularly until you are better. I suffered thru three weeks in Tunisia and Egypt on vacation and didn't even take aspirin to try to solve the problem. These days as soon as I feel my back acting up I start the ibuprofen. In Tunisia I did discover (seriously) that alcohol at least relieved the pain even if it did nothing to relive the swelling. Good luck with the back problem.