Getting ready to go back to work

That's a bummer. Is the back thing recurring (like mine)? I've found this book helpful:
http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0959774661

I take it down from the shelf every few years.

well, hopefully you didn't tear anything up and just strained your back.

it often happens when you rest up for one thing something else gets weak and then acts up.

good luck and get some good rest. go see a doctor if the pain doesn't go away.

There isn't much worse than a thrown back! I did it for the first time when I was 21, I leaned across my bed up pick up my pocket knife in the morning and it just went. I try to do toe touches every morning for 30 seconds in the shower now, and as long as I remember to do that I'm typically fine. But whenever I forget for a week or so it almost always goes out on me. Last time I was wakeboarding in cold water and hadn't done my stretches in about 5 days. The combination of all that did me in for a couple weeks.

There's a reason those crazy China men start every work day with a stretching routine, just makes sense.
Watch your dog or cat when they get up, big stretch.
For some reason we think we're exempt. My back and ITBS, can just about cripple me if I'm not careful.
Now, if you knew me the last thing you'd expect me to recommend would be yoga. I bang nails for a livong, was a machinist for 15 years, life long motorcycle rider, hunt, fish, etc...
Bought a $9 yoga dvd on Amazon this winter when the stiffness was really bad. Started slow, never got to more than a 20 min routine, would never attempt in public, but it's given me more comfort than anything I've ever tried. Do it 3 times a week now when I have time, no more back or leg issues.
Give it a shot, don't push, just go easy and you may feel better than you have in years with no more freak throw-outs.