I had back surgery 2 yrs ago. I know I had fusions, that is about all I know that was done, but the pain has never stopped. The pain is unbearable when I try to stand up straight so I have to lean on my rollator to at least get enough relief that I can at least walk. The pain never goes completely away until I sit down and even then there is some pain. I guess I should be thankful I get some relief and also once I am in bed, it eases off, too, after a few minutes. The surgeon has no answers for me and says there is nothing more he can do. I have done as much "stretches" as I could tolerate, had physical therapy and constantly looking for anything that could stop this pain. Haven't found anything yet, but I keep trying. I know there are a lot of people who are having the same problem. It certainly has made life miserable for me. As far as I can tell, the surgery did nothing for me. The pain has never stopped. I don't know if it is nerve pain or muscle pain.

Unfortunately, the cause of the pain is not typically in the xrays, whether plain films, CT (which is better for bones) and MRI. One thrid of marathon runners have herniated discs on MRI's, which means that anatomy does not necessarily correlate with symptoms. Every surgery, almost anywhere in the body, comes with healing and with healing typically comes with scar tissue to fill the void. That scar tissue can envelope nerves and if it does, a usual cause for failed back surgery. Fusion over multi level works well for correcting a moderate scoliosis in young people. A fusion may be good in older people to stabilize a degenerative spine to prevent further degeneration but as I have learned, it does not usually have an effect on relieving pain.