Question: I've had chronic low back pain for about 3 years now. It also sometimes includes hip/butt area pain. It wakes me up after being asleep for a few hours, and gets a lot worse when I stay in one position for a while (like a car ride). I'm also constantly tired, no matter how much sleep I get. I've tried things like physical therapy and yoga, and while some things help for a short time, it always comes back. It started as being every once in a while, but now it is every day, and it is starting to effect my work. If it helps, I have a family history of high blood pressure and various autoimmune diseases. I've talked to 4 doctors about it and they all have very different ideas of what it could be. It is getting frustrating not having answers, so I would like another opinion.


I have had an xray which showed minor scoliosis but more mid-back. My first dr. wanted me to get an MRI because he suspected ankylosing spondylitis due to family history, waking me up at night, and the fact that it is really stiff for a couple hours when I get up, but he retired before I could get it set up. My current primary doctor thinks I just pulled a muscle or something, so she hasnt ordered testing. I did see a back specialist but he was convinced I had hurt myself at work, even though I didnt start working until a year after symptoms start. Also, I have both injured muscles and bones before, and to me it feels a lot more like bone than muscle.