How do the massagers work on muscle strains? I don't have any spinal problems, but I've pulled/torn some lower back muscles and been down for a couple of weeks before. I think part of the problem was I was putting heat on it. It seems like it didn't get any better until I switched to ice.
Heat can open up teh arteries allowing more blood flow. Conventional wisdom says that if you have swelling already present in the area, more blood lfow is not a good thing. Ice it to minimize the swelling.
Muscle strain is pretty much exactly that. You've strained the muscle past its limits and probably tore a sizable amount of the muscle fibers. Weight lifters do this, under controlled circumstances, to try and get the muscle to re-grow bigger than it was before.
Heat should only be used when you have cramping or general soreness from strenuous activity. Everything else, sprains to tears, should be iced. See a doctor if you deem it bad enough, or if the pain persists.