What has been the most helpful to me are various exercises to strengthen the back and leg muscles in the L5 region. Usually, they give you these after you've completed the series of four cortosine shots. You can ask about them sooner if you want.
Best way to avoid unnecessary medical treatment is to threaten to see a chiropractor. Such a threat unlooses many a lip of an MD. Then, if you find the right chiropractor, you can see one on the sly anyway. Here in Japan (sadly, our last week here), the insurance system treats all forms of medical treatment roughly equally with a 20% or 30% co-payment. Even then, your average visit seldom exceeds $20 unless it is for something dramatic like eye surgery, in which case it can go as high as $400.