I was in a similar situation with my back a few years ago. It could be absolutely excruciating. While I also had a protruding disc, it turned out a lot of my problem was hanging on to the mental trauma from the death of a family member in the form of muscle tension. What ended up helping me get better was the combination of therapy (mental not physical) and regular massage appointments. There is also a great book by Peter Levine called “Waking the Tiger” that helped me to understand how my body can carry emotional trauma physically.
Not sure if this relates to you at all but hopefully it helps.