I have a prolapsed disc in my lower back. can physical therapy reverse this or is the best i can hope for to get the pain to a manageable level?

Not sure: By prolapsed disc i think you mean herniated disc. Pt is very important as a therapy. The hope is to strengthen your core and stabilizing muscles - therefore removing some pressure off your discs. With time hopefully the inflammation will decrease and the herniation will lessen. Results will vary from nothing to complete relief- longer you have symptoms, the less likely for complete resolution.

PT may help: The first thing to figure out is if the disc herniation is even the cause of the low back pain. A skilled pm;r interventional pain physician can help figure that out. Disc herniations are very common even in people that have no pain at all, so to quickly attribute the pain to the MRI finding is improper medicine. But yes, pt can sometimes help, but an epidural steroid injection will be quicker.

Pinched Nerve: Sounds like you have a pinched nerve in your back. I would suggest seeing a fellowship trained pain/spine specialist to evaluate you further to evaluate what level and what can be done to treat you. There are interventional treatments besides medications and surgeries that might reduce or eliminate the pain altogether.