Yea, L5/S1 pain here for years. Finally started seeing a chiropractor.
So far, I've gone from constant pain to occasional pain, so that's an improvement. I've had to make some lifestyle changes too. No more lifting with heavy free weights. No squats or deadlifts. Ah well.
Do yourself a favor and see a real doctor about it and try Physical Therapy. I always had my doubts about chiropractors but I tried one for a month and like you went from constant to occasional pain but never any better. I went to PT and they taught me exercises for my core and stretches that have me pain free to this day.
I have personally been involved with a woman who was almost killed by a chiropractor. The guy cracked her neck, did damage to the underlying veins, which caused a blot clot and a brain-stem stroke. She lost the ability to balance, loss of heat/cold detection, slightly droopy side of her face, and more. It nearly ruined her life and though she won a settlement, it was far lower than you'd think it'd be for such a huge loss of functionality.
This of course is just anecdotal evidence, but it's 100% true (I'm not an anonymous dude on the Internet, this is my name, and I stand by my words). Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from chiropractors as you can. They're not doctors and what they do can have serious consequences.
Though, I've had my neck cracked several times now, so a little late to be doing research. There seems to be a suggestion in that paper that perhaps these injuries are a result of a chiropractor aggravating an already weakened/injured artery. I remember hearing a story of someone having a stroke after cracking their own neck :O
Have you tried mackenzie method stretches? I had L5/S1 disc bulge and pain for over a year. After a few days of Mackenzie I was pain free, and now use the stretches as needed but probably 4 times a week.
I went to a Chiropractor for a few weeks but it never helped my lower back, but did help the upper back a bit.
So far, I've gone from constant pain to occasional pain, so that's an improvement. I've had to make some lifestyle changes too. No more lifting with heavy free weights. No squats or deadlifts. Ah well.