I was wondering what the back pain sufferers use for relief. I have a co-worker who is on the pain killers but would like a more natural choice. I'm assuming its probably an edible, but i am unsure. Any help is appreciated.

most people who have back pain sit all day with horrible posture and don't do stretches. tight hamstrings are often the culprit.

is that person taking care of himself? or just seeking to get better without having to put in any effort?

See above post. As someone who uses cannabis, as a replacement for several medications ,prescribed to treat a spinal cord injury; it's not some miracle cure.
It can work well enough as a sleep aid, but i find direct pain releaf isnt something that can be achieved from medicating alone. In my case, i generally use high CBD products to treat inflammation, indica leaning high thc strains for sleep, some sativas can be a nice distraction when i do my excercises the physio recommends.

The best results come from being active ( at least as active as your body allows) since switching to cannabis ive seen great improvements, but i think its only because it is overall less debilitating than my previous meds, meaning i can actually think or excercise when ive medicated.

Someone close to me used to suffer from back pain due to arthritis.

If you're eating refined carbohydrates like bread, even gluten-free options, you're going to get inflammation and make the pain worse. I'm not saying go keto, but if you're going to eat unnatural foods, you're going to have to deal with the consequences.

You also need to exercise your back to build muscles that will hold it in place and reduce pain. Stretching alone won't do much.

Cannabis helps but there are limits to what it can do. You can fix most symptoms with diet and exercise.