Ouch. Is it lumbar? Mine is degenerating couple of discs...doesn't really bother me much until I make that move that I've never been able to isolate. Then I'm laid up from anywhere between a couple of days to a week or so. Was told surgery "may" help....not into doing back surgery for a maybe. I too, am very familiar with PT.
I'm glad PT helps y'all. I have a real odd stenosis issue -- I don't really get back pain at all, just some minor stiffness. And I can walk just fine -- for about 10 to 15 minutes. After which, my legs go numb and powerless, just as if I was a paraplegic. Feeling and strength come back to my legs after sitting for 5 minutes or so, but then I need to get settled semi-permanently or else the time between loss of use of the legs gets shorter and shorter. And, of course, after each event, just slightly less feeling comes back.
I get it about not wanting to go for surgery on a maybe -- but in my case, if I don't get it repaired, there is no "maybe" about where it ends up: stuck in a wheelchair for the remainder of my days.
So, yeah -- surgery is a good option for me. Now all I need to do is find a surgeon who will do it. I've already quit smoking, the one thing that keeps any surgeon in this country from agreeing to work on you except in a total emergency. So, here's hoping I can get it fixed while I still have some use of my legs ongoing...