Hello. I have just joined this forum. I am a 49 year old woman who had a Herrington Rod inderted after being injured on the job and the subsequent CAT scan showed that my spine was in bad shape. I have a fusion at L4-L5 and a nerve root block on the right side. The surgeon used a piece of my hip bone to use as a block. I experience terrible pain in the upper back, as though I am being stung/burned, and I wonder if it is muscular or hardware-related. I also sustained a pulverized right hip because of the injury, and there was not enough hip bone on the right to clip the hardware in front, the surgeon had to do a work-around with clips or something. Anyway, I am wondering if anyone else experiences this type of pain, and if a fall I recently had on an icy driveway, where I landed hard flat on my back, may have damaged the rod or any bone that may have formed. I have always had this upper back pain, it just seems worse of late. If I have to stand for prolonged periods, I am sweaty and nauseous from the pain. My quality of life is less than optimal because of this. I cannot even stand up straight as it is too painful. I try isotonic exercises for most muscle groups. Can anyone enlighten me?? Thanx