Hi, @dysnotfun. I hope my experience will help you visualize a path to relief. I had a similar problem a few years ago. My spinal-pain doctors reacted to an MRI which, they said, showed I had arthritis in my lumbar region. Physical therapy was first, and that evolved into a strong diagnosis of a strain in a piriformis muscle which runs through the pelvis into the muscles of the buttocks. Oddly, the PT didn't fix the problem. My personal care physician did. I told her I wasn't inclined to pain-relief injections, she asked what the high-priced specialists didn't: What about a sacroiliac joint inflammation? That diagnosis gets confirmed by injecting inflammation medication into the joint -- not a pain-killer -- and if it works, the diagnosis is confirmed. She was right! And I was able to quit thinking about whether to have surgery. My second-opinion doctor solved my problem. I think Teresa's advice to get a second opinion is at least worth a try, and if it comes from a specialist who doesn't practice with surgical knives, the chances of relief are better, in my opinion. Martin