Whay causes inflammation in the back? ?

Hi everyone. I have been suffering from very severe back pain for years now and have tried all kinds of medications with hardly any relief. The pain is not just my lower back or just my upper back, its my entire spine from the head to the small of my back but the main pain and heat is in my shoulder / upper back area. Pain killers like hydrocodone and things of that nature don't touch the pain or discomfort. I recently was put on prednisone which made my pain disappear, which confirms that the pain is from inflammation. I am now off the prednisone because I had horrible side effects and naproxen and ibuprofen help a little bit but my question is. What could be causing such bad and painful inflammation in my whole back and what can I do to cure and prevent it so that I can stop taking so many pills and actually be happy again? Thank you for all your help!