@pljauthor
Not having discs cushion your vertebrae and if any disc material compresses your spinal cord/nerves will not improve without surgery. Injections will be a temporary way to delay surgery (what I was doing) but injections do not work for everyone. I am a 55 year old female and single parent of a teen son. My quality of life was getting so bad that I didn’t want to delay surgery anymore. My neurologist suggested getting surgery while younger to not only improve quality of life but also make recovery easier. I am glad I did not delay surgery until I was older. The surgery was extremely painful and getting around the first week was extremely difficult but got a little better 2nd week. When I went for my post op appointment (yesterday 8/15/2024), I was told I am doing really well, incision healed well, and I am off narcotics (after 1st week). He said I was the best post op appointment he ever had because I am doing so well at 2 weeks post surgery! 🙂

See attached pictures of my L3-L5 decompression/fusion.

The problems you are having sound a lot like mine except I did have surgery. If I had to do over I would have tried some of the procedures mentioned first. It may have given me relief without surgery. Since my surgeries in which my L1 was compressed with spinal stenosis and degenerative arthritis I have had the ablation which didn't work, nerve blocks. They feel the pain I am having again in my leg is from a pinched nerve. Six weeks ago I had a spinal stimulator implanted. It is finally starting to give me relief but I still had groin and buttock pain so I just had an injection in my iliac joint (I think that's what it is called). It is the most relief I have had in over a year. I can stand without pain. I know it is only temporary but it is wonderful. The final decision is yours. Just don't go in like I did with very little knowledge. Read, discuss with others and get a second opinion. Best of luck to you.