Low back and leg chronic pain

I recently had an MRI of my Lumbar Spine. It showed moderate arthritis which has caused calcification to occur in the L-4  L-5 vertebras. The doctor said that is rubbing on nerves that go down my legs which causes constant pain while sitting all the time sometimes while standing and after sitting for 20 minutes or more and sometimes less time i will have low back pain a leg pain in the right leg first then both legs all the way to my ankles. The pain gets severe. I am going to do therapy for 8 weeks plus my home exercises but  I think I talked him into the therapy as he said he believes he could clean up the spur issues and arthritis which would clear up much of my leg pain. A friend of mine who is a doctor told me if it is a mechanical issue I am wasting my money on therapy.
I can not drive more than a hour without getting out and walking sround but many times the pwin will get started and be so bad that the only way to relieve it is to lay down and elevate my legs on pillows.
It is very frustrating at movie theaters, driving trips, airplanes and eating out at a restaurant when the pain continues to get worse!

thanks for giving me your advise!

[jusjames1]

Wow!  I could have written that post. I have chronic back pain in my upper, mid and lower spine. The same thing has been happening to my legs. My doctor says it's related to my siatic (sciatic) nerve. Sometimes it hurts from my tail bone all the way dowm my legs to my ankles. The pain is unbarable at times, even with the pain meds that I'm taking. I even went to the emergency room at 2am one morning. They said it was my arthritis in my mid spine. So far, no relief for the pain. I wish I could help. I had to reply though.it sounded so familiar. Best of luck

[happyhbmom]

Is the arthritis in your vertebrae or in your facet joints?

Because I have lots of arthritis in my facet joints, and there's a great treatment for that called radiofrequency ablation.

Personally, I'd visit an interventional pain medicine doctor and see what he can do for you.  They can do blocks and such that really help.

[Agggony]

I know they can do Out Patient lazar surgery now, People have this done and go back to work the next day, They just use the Lazar to burn off the disc budge or bone spur that is interfering with the nerve, I have seen advertisements for Laser spine surgery on this web site, Good Luck

[Rose800]

I've been suffering with a rupture to the L4-5 area and am trying a nerve block.  I have had a lot of these the past two years as my whole back seems to be bad. Has anyone had the radiofrequency ablation or the Lazar treatments?  Did your insurance cover these?  I'm at my wit's end and do not feel that choosing more and complicated surgery is necessarily the answer.  Thank you to anyone who can shed some light.  I am in pain 24/7 with the pain coming from my spine and all around and down the sciatic curve with shooting pains into my top thigh front and back and soreness down from there.  Thank you in advance for any comments...no comment is too small to consider.  Have a good day folks and hang in there and keep your hopes up!  Rose