teteri66

You may be having some degenerative issues with a facet joint. That is a common pain generator when one's pain is worse overnight while sleeping and gradually improves as the day goes on.

A neurologist is trained to diagnose diseases of the nerves such as MS and Parkinsons, deal with stroke and run tests pertaining to the nerves, but they are not particularly skillful at diagnosing a problem in the back or neck. For that you are better off seeing a spinal specialist, either an orthopedic spine surgeon or a neurosurgeon who limit their practice to issues of the back and neck, or a physiatrist.

While it is common to have nerve pain originating in the spine and radiating out to a limb or another part of the body, it is unusual to have it begin at the knee. Usually it runs down the buttock and thigh stopping at the knee or going on down the leg to the ankle or foot. Nerve pain runs out from the spine. It does not travel from a limb up into the spine.

If you have a disc issue at L4-L5 or anything else that affects the spinal nerves at that segment, the path of pain usually, in most people, runs down the side of the leg, over the kneecap, down the top of the calf and into the big toe for the L4 and the three middle toes for the L5 nerve. You can look at a "dermatome map" to see the paths various nerves take.

For an accurate diagnosis, I would suggest you see a spine specialist. Then hopefully, you will learn what is wrong and will come out with a plan for treatment. Nerve pain is a symptom of nerve irritation or compression.

I hope you can get some relief soon. You might want to try one of the "nerve" medications for the pain...like Lyrica, neurontin, gabapentin....