I'm looking for help with occasional low back and lower neck pain

I truly agree with all the modalities listed. Another idea you may want to pursue is looking at how you are using yourself in your daily activities. Seek out an Alexander technique teacher in your area to help you find your habitual poor use during activity and teach you healthier ways to sit, stand and move.

Go on the American Society of Alexander Teachers and find someone near you.

You have occasional neck and back pain because your nervous system needs more information/options. In order to get more information you need to know what you are already doing. Slow way down and Pay Attention to how you are using your whole system. How is your skeleton supporting you? Where are you efforting when other, easier, options could be available if you just had more information. I have resources to help you to discover how you can use your brain's innate plasticity to find new levels of brain organization and freedom from pain.

What is your body image? How are you experiencing your way of moving, walking, standing, sitting? Do you focus on what is comfortable or what is painful?

Sometimes going back to an earlier stage of development, and doing movements like rolling, folding, and spirals, can help you engage more of your entire self and lead to comfort. I use touch and verbal directions to guide your attention to what is moving easily, gently, effortlessly, and we find an opening to the area that is causing you pain.

This may be the result of chronically tight muscles in your lower back and neck. It is not uncommon for both to be affected since many of the muscles of the back connect to the cervical spine and the occiput. Consider the long erector spinae -- the long muscles on each side of the spine that extend from the posterior pelvis and lumbars right up to the the occiput. Structural Integration, also known as Rolfing, can be very effective in lengthening the muscles of the back and neck, providing relief and more flexibility. I hope this helps.

I would recommend good massage therapy like Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT) and true Deep Tissue (done strictly without oil!). These will directly address the soft tissue issues you are dealing with. Good chiropractic may be warranted if you are out of alignment.

Energy Medicine has proven to be very effective in providing relief from this type of pains as well as potentially accessing the underlying cause for those. Because this type of therapy is based on dealing with the whole person - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - the issue can be addressed in the necessary levels and the body can find relief while the root cause is addressed.
In my practice I have observed that physical ailments are often the result of underlying emotional imbalances. By bringing awareness to the root of the issue balance is restored in the body, the pain is resolved and relief may be long lasting.

There could be an underlying health issues for example, Virus and/or bacteria in your spinal area which could be the reason for the pain. You could have an imbalance in vitamins and/or minerals. You could have a spinal misalignment. So there are many possibilities that could
be causing the discomfort. You should schedule an appointment with a practitioner who can review all this with you to help you sort through the possibilities and options for a customized treatment plan.

Homeopathy could help by addressing the underlying causes of why you needed the sleep meds. Also you could be low in magnesium.

A very good option is Myofascial release (John Barnes approach) it addresses the soft tissue restrictions, the body misalignments and also the emotional traumas that might be causing the pain. It is a 360 approach. You can find a practitioner in your area at Myofascialrelease.com/findapractitioner.

The Bowen Technique registered here in the USA as Bowenwork can usually with 2-3 sessions have occasional low back and neck problems resolved. It is a very mild bodywork that helps the bodies healing abilities to help normalize the bodies activities. In your case what may be needed is the correction of muscle tension which will allow in most cases for the pain to go away. You can locate a practitioner in your area at www.americanbowenacademy.com

There are a number of fantastic options. I agree with Chiropractic care. I was a huge skeptic until I started getting adjusted by some chiro's in my office. It's helped with a variety of ailments and personally I feel it opens up blocked energy channels. In addition to Chiropractic, stretching and yoga are fantastic ways to help with spinal and muscular distortions. Have you had any trauma to the areas? When did the symptoms start? Tell me more about it....

If you've never seen a Chiropractor... back and neck pain is the #1 reason people see a Chiropractor. Chiropractic doctors are trained to diagnose the cause of your problem and help treat you with a variety of gentle spinal manipulation techniques, exercise and lifestyle coaching options, nutrition, and many have acupuncture backgrounds....all drug free options that work.

There are a good number of stretches you can do as well as just daily adjustments to pay attention to like how you position your phone when looking at it. I am a yoga instructor and can help with stretches and also can suggest some essential oils that can help with tension and pain

I find that a multi-part plan is the best way to relieve pain and also reduce recurrence or worsening of pain. A comprehensive plan will include bodywork or acupuncture to immediately help relieve your pain, but will also include strategies to help improve dietary or lifestyle factors that contribute to your experience of pain. It will also include ergonomic (body positioning) evaluation and recommendations for therapeutic exercise so that you can strengthen, stabilize and improve mobility in the right areas. You can develop a comprehensive plan by working with a variety of skilled practitioners such as massage therapists, physical therapists, acupuncturists and physicians, or by working with a physician like myself who is both a Naturopathic Physician and Licensed Acupuncturist. My focus is on reducing pain and getting people back to being active and vibrant.

Tell me a little bit more about your symptoms.