I have not had back surgery, but have had problems over the years. At one point I met a Chiropractor. Even though I had heard good and bad about them, I went to see him.
He adjusted my back and it was better. But then, he gave me a metal bar that fits between a door jam, and told me if I would hang from by my hands I would probably never need to see him again.
He was right. Every time I felt a twinge I would hand on that, or a tree branch or whatever for a few seconds, and it helped a lot. The doctor told me that it was just about the same as the inversion board.
I can't hang on anything now because my weight would probably pull my arms off.
I still grab on to something now and then and let it pull, but without totally lifting me off the ground,.
For those that aren't in real trouble yet, it might be worth doing. Can't hurt.