What causes the pain is the inflammation.

The inflammation is caused by a bulging disk (most of the time) pressing on nerves, often caused by swelling.

Reduce the swelling and the pressure on the nerve goes away. Ice can help. Rest can help. Anything to relieve the pressure can help (sometimes an inversion table or traction).

The other thing is reduce inflammation. Drugs can do this. Changing the diet to a low inflammation diet can help. This last thing is what helped my long term knee and back pain most. Cut out the sugar and the carbs. The short term stuff is the ice and drugs and rest and reducing the pressure on the associated nerve.

If it is bad enough, an operation. I've had three of those.

John