Just an update. I stopped the regular Aleve last week, but my back is still in good shape, with none of the spasms that were par for the course for a couple of years. It still gets tired, but none of the shooting pains.
The Achilles tendons are still a bit on the painful side, but that comes and goes.
Saturday I met up with Clan Mtnbkr (nice pink tartan, Chris!) and we walked around a local "town center" complex, visiting a number of stores and the farmer's market (where I bought some incredible local cheese!).
I took a couple of Aleve before that outing, and I did get a bit sore, but I was able to get through the better part of several hours on my feet standing and walking with some intermittent sitting.
This morning again I walked down from the metro, and nary a back spasm. I can feel the muscles; they're tight, but they didn't drop me in the middle of the street.
Whomever the OP was who posted the article, thank you. I had pretty much come to accept that my back wasn't going to be getting any better, and it was going to affect my mobility for probably the rest of my life.
Using the Aleve regularly to break the pain cycle (as opposed to treating the pain after it got really bad) has made a HUGE difference for me.