Happy to hear that you feel more informed about what might be going on in your back, and hope that your and our efforts in trying to come up with possible ways to go with this brings you closer to achieving your goals!

Damien is quite right that I agree in laying off training and movements that seem to aggravate your pain. As I suggested, more of the good and less of the bad. It seems you do have a good grasp on what activities brings on your pain. If I were you, I would try to adapt the way I performed these activities, to see if I could do i.e. cycling without or much less discomfort. Easy stuff like keeping up your cardiovascular abilities by cycling on a stationary spinning bike (without leaning forward and less momentum through your arms if this causes pain). Even if swimming causes increased soreness AFTER training, try to break up the sessions, i.e. 10 minutes in water, 5 minutes on land, etc... Try out different strategies, and you'll suddenly hit a nail that provides you with a "way to move without pain". It's a good way to go with "gradual exposure", always a gradual, mindful return to whatever activity brings on your pain.

Keep up the good work, and keep us updated of you progress!

Kind regards,
Sigurd Mikkelsen