Degenerate Disc Disease/bone spurs/bulging discs, with problems in one C disc, two T's, almost all L's?

My sister is having serious problems with her back and can not get any help (it seems) from the doctors that she has seen. I just spent 4 days with my sister, helping her take care of her children and home, because she simply can not physically bare the pain any longer. She can not stand to cook dinner, stand to get ready for work, can not bend to clean, can not bend to get food from the fridge or get the clean clothes from the dryer. Two days ago she got up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, stood up from her bed, and her back completely gave out sending her to the floor. She was not able to get off of the floor, and was in so much pain it hurt while she yalled for help. She resorted to sleeping in the floor because she could not move. Luckily I found her before she had to spend the entire night there. She needs major help!!! The following morning I went with her to an ortho clinic, the doc ordered an x-ray, and told her that her problem is not as bad as she made it sound, and ordered her to go to physical theropy for 2 weeks and report back. THE PROBLEM is that my sister CAN NOT MOVE without being in agonizing pain, much less work out! She has gone to PT before, but can not get out of the bed or move the next day, so she does not go back. My thoughts are that she needs to be on pain meds during PT so that she can make it through the first few weeks or so, then hopefully she won't be in so much pain after several weeks of PT. I don't have any experience with this sort of problem, and when she tries to explain it to me, the terminology is like I'm listening to someone speak a foreign language. I told het that I was going to get on the internet and try to get some info for her. I asked her to send me a message with her problems, and this is the info she gave me...

...one C disc, two T's, almost all my L's, and my S has something

wrong with it...The majority of my problem was degenerate disc disease and bulging discs. I

had "bone spurs" (I'm not sure if thats what they call it if it's on your

vertebrae or not) in my T's, L's and S's.

She has been going to massage theropy once a week for 4 years, and that helps her for a day or two. It's a family friend, so he doesn't charge her much. He saw her today and told her that there is definately nerve impingement. My sister doesn't have good insurance, and is a single mother. She can not afford a MRI now, but had one approximately 7 years ago.

Can anyone with experience with this problem or medical knowledge please respond. I am desperate to help my sister. She is only 36, and I fear that she will not be able to live on her own for long. She is too young to be going through this.

Also, my sister is about 100 lbs over weight, and has just recently started a diet alond with a diet pill that was prescribed by a doctor. She has lost about 10 lbs during the first two weeks. She realizes that her weight makes her back worse, inturn making her pain worse, and is trying to loose weight.

PLEASE HELP!!!