Griz--
Gettin' old(er) sucks, don't it? Until, as they say, one considers the alternative. About 10 years ago (when I was just about exactly your age) I took an awkward spill on some slippery steps and my lower back has never been the same. My younger son, then 5-ish, watched from the top of the steps as I writhed around on the floor in excruciating pain until, eventually realizing he was watching and getting pretty scared, I somehow managed to croak out (lying through my clenched teeth) "I'm OK." (Wanted to say "Call an ambulance.")
Couple years ago exacerbated it working at the clinic, picking up (stupidly using totally improper technique for lifting, ie back
not rigidly straight) a dog to put him on the exam table. (Ever since, my wife takes great delight in telling the story of how I injured my back at work picking up a Poodle...what she conveniently fails to mention was that it was a 65 lb Standard Poodle!)
Hang tough kid. It never gets back to the way it was, but it gets better.