There is a very simple an completely painless diagnostic test called Thermography. Almost no Doctors know about it or use it. Even though the primary company that promotes the equipment is run my USA MD's.
It's just a camera that takes a picture of you from several feet away. It measures the temperature coming off your body. The temperature is converted to a color map. The colors representing the areas with the most intense heat.
While this test does not isolate a specific part three dimensionally it does create a pattern the is very good at showing the spots where the most heat is coming from. They actually use this technology for Breat exams as an adjunct for mamography. It can sometimes detect things the mamography can not.
Here is how it's used in Breast Cancer Screening.
http://www.breastthermography.com/br...ography_mf.htm
It has many applications. I suggest this because it could be helpful in determining the area that is creating the problem in the least invasive way.
I had this done on my neck (which is a heat pump) and it was just bright red and orange... they had to really change the settings on the camera to get a decent picture. And when they did they brightness corrolated very well with the area of my herniation.
You may also want to look into an Enzyme product called Wobenzym. It is NOT a cure but it really does help with healing and inflammation and can be taken right along with meds. It's the most tested Systemic Enzyme in the world and comes from a German Company called Mucos Pharma.
I eat them daily as they are one of the few things that help. I have had no known side effects. They don't help my balance at all, but they do help my pain and I feel better when I take them than when I don't.
I tried Auqa Physical Therapy in the pool and it made me so Nauseas that I could hardly get out. Resting in a tub of bathwater however is wonderful, as is a dip in the hot tub.
Keep this in mind when using water to release some of your pain. Never sit in water warmer than 104 degrees f, for more than 20 minutes as that is the temperature that you begin to "cook" so to speak and you can get really ill. I prefer a bath drawn at 102 for 20 minutes. By the time I finish it's at about 98 degrees. I purchased a hot tub thermometer at a local pool place for about 6 bucks. Everyone should have one of these so they can find the temperature that is just right for their body.
Also keep a diet journal. Certain foods can trigger more pain in susceptible individuals. I find that red meat doesn't work for me, and neither does Grapefruit. For some it's nuts or eggs or ? There are advocates that both support and disdain the theory that foods can regulate pain. For me I believe. But you have to track what you eat. Then the days you feel really bad (Hopefully not every day!) or better see if it has any corrolation to what you ate.