I was diagnosed with degenerative changes in my spine and bulging discs after an MRI scan. My back used to go into spasm and I had to crawl around on all fours. The only thing that worked for me was lying flat in bed until the inflammation subsided. This could take a couple of days. Then I would get up and gradually start to move around taking plenty of breaks lying flat again. It used to take around two weeks to be back to normal. However, this hasn't happened to me for around two years due to exercises given to me by a physio. I started doing them every day for around nine months and then I reduced them to around three times a week. They concentrate on strengthening the core muscles and, believe me they work. BUT you have to be disciplined enough to keep it up because it is by no means an overnight cure.
At the moment Sluttygran, listen to your body and rest it for as long as you need to until you feel you can start to move around. Once you are better, get the GP to print out some back exercises for your particular problem
Good luck, hope you feel better soon.