Pain in left side of middle back going to left buttock and knee.

Simple sciatic nerve issues maybe? Possibly glutineal tendinopathy?

Check your hips out. Had a similar pain. Dr's thought it was low back and after a year and PT the physical therapist said she thought it was my hip not my back. Had an MRI and 4 days later had a Hip scope to repair and reshape the hip socket. This is just my experience. Hope you get some relief and are back running in no time

@bajjerfan Doctor ruled out sciatic nerve pain with reference to my MRI of back.
For glutineal tendinopathy should I consider MRI of my hips?

@livininthestix Should I consider MRI of my hip.

I am not a doctor so thats a question for them. I know the Dr's made me feel crazy when they couldn't find anything with my low back yet the pain was debilitating and very real. I was so happy when the Physical therapist gave the Dr somewhere else to look and they figured it out. Have you tried PT yet? They might be able to help you feel better and help figure out whats going on.

@livininthestix Yes, I have tried physical therapy, it made my pain worse.

@yaniketmalik

Google it or search here to see if your symptoms match. If it is GT you are pretty much SOL from what I understand. See what your doc would suggest.

Yaniketmalik,

Quite obvious you need a diagnosis. No idea where you live, but try immediately to get an office visit at a neurosurgical office, practically one that has a pain medicine practice associated with it. These doctors will want to see your imaging studies and prior notes from whoever has looked at you for the problem. Tell the scheduler on the phone that you want to see a physician for your initial evaluation, not a PA. Use these words and see if it helps you. “My problem is much too severe to see someone without a MD after her or his name.”

The right doctor should not have a challenge diagnosing your pain and figuring out a path forward. If you are sitting for hours every day, you need to get up once an hour and walk around to give your body and mind a break.

I hope you can get in quickly. The medical care delivery system is broken in many places. I wish you the best. Help is out there, but getting it has become a secondary challenge.

I am not sure if this is the same or different. I had distinct narrowing in my spine and my neurologist was amazed that I was not symptomatic. Then, suddenly, at the beginning of 2025 pain started to radiate down both legs. After a couple of months a caudal epidural steroid shot by my then pain doctor stopped the pain. In the meantime I have the Director of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery at the Barrows Neurological Institute as my neurosurgeon and we made a deal: when steroid shots stop working, I call him. So far, fingers crossed, a shot a year ago is still working.

This should not be hard for a neurosurgeon to determine with an MRI. It is interesting to me that my neurologist likes to view the MRI from the top down rather than as a slice from the side.