Hello everyone, Marc here, just signed up last week for this message board. I had Lumbar Spinal Fusion surgery at L5-S1 back in November, and my back pain was much less than I expected as I started my recovery. However, there is a second medical issue my doctors are still trying to figure out after the surgery did not get rid of all of my pain.

The muscles in my right flank/oblique area have been locked in a permanent spasm, and any physical activity, such as physical therapy exercises and stretches, causes these muscles to cramp, like having a calf cramp in your side. This has slowed my recovery down quite a bit, as I am not even driving yet 3 months after surgery, never mind exercising. I have a stick-shift vehicle, so using both legs continuously will create a risk of my right side locking up while I'm driving.

So, my wife has been driving me to my appointments, and I'm basically disabled at home, because I cannot do the simplest things around the house without having a lot of pain that the only relief for is laying on my back. I have very painfully sore heels from all of this laying in bed every day, and no one has any idea what is causing my muscles to permanently spasm.

Good luck, everyone!