Hey mate, I’m a physio and work with a lot of athletes and lifters. I agree with @s.gentz that finding a good practitioner who can accurately assess your problem and help you return to training is immensely helpful.
However, I do just want to clarify a few things, hopefully for your peace of mind:
- Back injuries/pain are only rarely chronically debilitating, or serious. Considering you’ve already seen a doctor, you probably don’t have any major injuries. Something to keep an eye out for would be large changes in your balance, strength or serious nerve pains.
- “Natural history” is the medical term used to describe how a condition progresses over time if unmanaged. The natural history for back pain is: 2/3 of individuals are better at 2 weeks, 4/5 of individuals are better at 6 weeks, the majority are better by 6 months.
Given these facts, if it is absolutely not an option for you to consult with a good sports physician, physiotherapist/physical therapist, athletic trainer (if you’re in North America), sports therapist (if you’re in Western Europe) or an exercise physiologist (Australia/NZ), then my suggestions would be to:
- Phase 1: light activity like walking, swimming and cycling. You may start some bodyweight exercises and broomstick technique work for squats/deadlifts. A little bit of soreness in this stage is okay, as long as it doesn’t get worse and doesn’t feel sharp
- Phase 2: light-moderate machine training for the upper and lower body. You may start some light technique work for squats & DLs with the barbell <30kg/65lbs, plus things like goblet squats
- Phase 3: Begin phasing back to normal training