I don't know if it would help, but have you tried a backrest? I didn't have a herniated disk but my back used to hurt if I rode very long at a time. The back rest has made all the difference. Foot boards helped a lot too since they allow me to shift my leg position.

We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.