I had horrible lower back/hip pain for months. The only time I was pain-free was when I was riding my bike. The things that helped me tremendously are a good chiropractor, ergonomic seating at my office (yeah, I had to threaten a worker's comp claim, but they came through), working through some very tough emotional/relationship/life stuff, and Pilates.

The only time I have inklings of back pain now are when I get slack with the Pilates. I no longer see the chiropractor and I work from home and cannot afford a $1000 chair so I make do with what I have. I am still working on the emotional/life stuff, but I'm in a much better situation that I was before.

I'd start the Pilates right away. It's a whole lot easier than the other stuff (okay, the chair is easy, especially if you don't have to pay for it!)