Hello Paul,

Welcome to this forum and to the super people who post and try to help others.

Thanks for sharing some important details about the pain you are having.

I would say you definitely made the right decison to quit the job which startied the pain you are having. All that sitting in one position and the stress included with it most likely were contributing factors.

I'm glad you had the x-rays taken. That is a start in the right direction. I am not a doctor, just another spiney. With that said, I would recommend that you seek advice from a neurologist/spinal surgeon. In other words medical specialist for the spine. Make sure they have "MD" after their name.

Seek out the very best spinal doctors that you can find in your area. Talk to people you know. Find out which ones they liked and had success with and the ones they did not like. Call your local hopitals and find out which spinal surgeons perform the most surgeries and have the best successes. Note: I'm not saying you need surgery, most likely not, it is just that yoiu want a doctor who is an expert in understanding the spine. If you live in an area with a professional sports team I would suggest you give their office a call and find out which spinal doctor(s) they have for their very expensive players. They have a HUGE investment in their players, and they are only going to go with the best spinal doctors for their players.

Paul, then select the neurologist/spinal doctor that is at the top of your list, and make an appointment. Then select No.2 and make an appointment with that doctor. It is always a good idea to get 2nd (and third) opinions.)

Most likely along the way you will need to have MRIs taken as they show much more than just x-rays.

Only a professional medical spine specialist has the knowledge to tell you what you have and to suggest the proper treatment.

Hope all goes well. Do stay in touch and let us know how things go for you.

RichT