jdixon

Hello everyone,

In March 2007 I had a microdisectomy on the L4/L5 for a herniated disc. My symptoms were major back pain, pain/tightness in my left buttock and numbness/sciatica down my left leg.

Since the surgery, I was following my doctors instructions and allocating at least 1.5 hours each day for stretching, strengthening and cardio. Things were going really well and my back felt like I was 16 years old.

4 weeks ago, I sneezed and felt a twinge in my lower back. The next day my whole lower back was sore and I couldn't bend over to put my socks/shoes on. After 1 week the lower back pain went away.

For the past 3 weeks, when I stand or walk for more than 5 minutes, I feel tightness and a dull throbbing pain in my left buttock. After a few seconds, the pain radiates into my groin and is a combination of a dull ache and a constant throbbing. The throbbing is intense and , for lack of better words, feels like someone is hitting my left testicle with a sledgehammer. It gets to a point where the throbbing is so intense that I have to sit/lie down. Last night I was doing groceries with my wife and had to sit down on a stack of dog food to temporarily stop the pain.

If I sit or lie down, the pain/throbbing immediately goes away....and when I stand up, it starts all over again in roughly 5 minutes.

I'm generally an "uptight" guy and a butt clencher, so I've been trying to make sure I'm not tightening up my glutes while walking/standing/working/sitting etc, but regardless of whether they are relaxed or not, the pain starts.

Has anyone ever felt these symptoms? I'm obviously worried that I may have reherniated the disc. My family doctor said it could be as simple as my left glute muscle being extremely tight and perhaps some deep tissue massages may help.

I can feel quite a lump in my left buttock which is roughly 1.5' long and wide, but I'm not sure what is causing the tightness.

I have an appointment with my surgeon at the end of February.

The thing that confuses me, is that it takes around 5 minutes for the pain to start and I can immediately relieve the pain by sitting or lying down.

Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.

Regards,
James