@bazzinga1234 I understand your frustration with physical therapy. There could be a couple of things adding to your pain, the nerve compression in the foramen of the nerve root at L4, and if a muscle spasm has caused your pelvis to shift, that might also further compress the foramen (space between vertebrae at L4) putting more pressure on an already compressed nerve. When the pelvis is out of alignmenet it adds to back pain and can cause sciatic nerve pain even when there are no spine issues. If your disc at L4 is OK, and the problem is only at the nerve root, there is a less invasive procedure called a foraminotomy that could open up that space and it may be able to be done as a minimally invasive surgery. This isn't extensive back surgery.

Here is some information about a foraminotomy:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/foraminotomy
You mentioned you are 73 and have trouble walking because of this pain and loss of normal function. This can create a risk of falling that would be significant and that could lead injuries that would further decrease your quality of life. I don't know if you have osteoporosis, but that would substantially increase the risk of breaking bones if you fall. This is something to think about because you may not be a candidate for a surgical procedure later at an advanced age. That is something only a specialist can answer, and it might be worth your time to get an opinion as to what is best in your situation. My mom has severe osteoporosis and fell because when she was walking, a bone in her foot just broke causing a fall that also broke her pelvis. That was a very long recovery and because she didn't walk on her foot, the tendons shortened and she could no longer put her foot flat on the floor. That lead to another surgery on her foot and life in a wheelchair. When you are older, a fall risk can be serious.

Another suggestion I can make is to look at myofascial release therapy. A specially trained physical therapist can do this, and basically it is a hands on manual technique where the therapist stretches your overly tight tissue. You would not be doing exercises; this is more like a massage or like kneading bread dough in slow motion. The therapist will press into your skin with their hands and push it in a direction against the tightness and just hold the pressure and wait for the tissue to release. Doing this can realign the spine a bit if a muscle spasm has caused a shift. The pelvis is connected to the spine by muscles and can pull on the spine causing pain. This might be something to try to see if it helps. It won't change the compression in the foramen, but it gets the body better aligned.

Here is the discussion that you may want to read through and meet other members who have used MFR. I have done this therapy for over 10 years and it has helped me a lot. I am also a cervical spine surgery patient.

MFR — Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/

Would you please come back and share what you learn from the new MRI's that you will be having and what your doctors suggest? I just noticed your member name Bazzinga..... and I think that you probably like a TV show that I like too.