Ok, maybe the word "fixed" isn't accurate but ... the pain is gone.
At first I thought it was because I had finally gotten to the chiropractor after having to cancel on Monday (got there on Tuesday). I expected a kind of instant relief after the adjustment but that didn't happen. Everything was tight. I usually can hang from a chin bar and while rocking my hips slowly back and forth from left to right my back will pop. Instantly, I can feel the relief when this happens.
I, for the life of me, could not crack my back for over a week. My lower back was so tight that the muscles would loosen but only slightly and my back would not adjust. Stretching helped loosen everything up and when I got warmer from starting cardio or starting to train it would also get better. However, as soon as I was done training or doing cardio, it would tighten up again.
So, it wasn't the adjustment - on it's own, anyway. I stretched my lower back on Tuesday, too, and that may have helped some but it certainly wasn't the cure.
I then went in today to train legs and with my back pretty tender I decided the only logical thing to do was to squat (in the smith; I can't squat free with this back) for 10 sets. Yes, 10 sets. I started warming up completely convinced that I was going to get about 3 reps and my back would hurt and I would go find something else. Everything felt great; in fact, my quads were firing so hard and strong that I was irritated my back was a vulnerability because I likely could have been quite strong today. This is with doing 3 cardio sessions a day so you can see how this is the last thing I would expect - my quads feeling strong.
After the 10 sets of squats I did 5 sets of lying leg curls and just for fun we went back and did 3 sets of heavy hack squats.
My back feels great. Honestly, I have no freakin' clue why. Now, it could tighten up later tonight or tomorrow but at least so far, it hasn't and it felt great while training legs. It was likely the combo of the adjustment and the stretching of my lower back but just as I can't pinpoint what I did, initially, to irritate it in the first place, I have no real good idea as to why it feels so much better now when it should be quite irritated and tender from the leg work/squats.
Still, I'll take it. I have been dealing with chronic back pain for years now so as frustrating as it is when it appears for no obvious reason, it eventually goes away and gets better IF I am smart and make changes to my training. I will never be without back pain so I have little choice other than to continue to battle it and win more times than my back does.