I had terrible claudication before my lumbar surgery for stenosis many years ago. I wasn't able to stand or walk upright, nor could I lay flat in bed. Mine was painful, though, and felt like I had a vise grip around my spine in that area. I also had some numbness in my feet as well as nerve pain. The more I tried to straighten up, the worse the pain and spasms got. I had laminectomies from L3 to L5, foraminotomies, and discectomies.

My lower back after surgery was remarkable in that I was finally able to lay flat again. I could not believe it and it felt SOOOO good to straighten out!

I did end up with scar tissue even though I did everything to try to prevent it and a piece broke off and got stuck but pain management was able to flush it out during an epidural.

Over time, though, my body continued to develop more stenosis and it's pretty much everywhere in my spine. I did have some good period of time where I felt pretty good after surgery, though.