I had a laminectomy/discectomy at l5s1 in 1999 when I was 25 to correct a herniation caused by a car accident. In the five years after my surgery I never had any significant pain or recurring symptoms. I did however get caught up in life, got a little out of shape and continued smoking. In the last two years I quit smoking and began cycling again after a 10 year hiatus which has brought more joy to my life than I can begin to explain. The problem is that I am having progressively worse pain in my low back which is now keepig me off my bike. It started w/ minor tightness in the low left back on long rides and fatigue in the low right side afterwards. After a few months I started get some minor radiating pain into my right butt cheek but nothing compared to the pain 7 years ago before surgery. I have been in the active care of a chiropractor and get regular acupuncture and massages but nothing is helping. Out of desperation I saw my doctor and i'm now on a 12 day course of prednisone but it doesn't seem to be helping. I feel like if I can get past the pain and correct the left/right imbalance I will be ok but nothing seems to be helping. Has anyone been through this and/or have suggestions on correcting muscle imbalance?