I have had lower back issues for many years now. I didn t have or don t remember having these issues before I worked as a jailer. However, after a couple of years as a jailer I started having pain, close to sciatica . I worked as a jail for over 7 years. Due to the everyday pain I went into a different career, but the pain is getting worse. I had an MRI done and the doctor told me that my last lumbar doesn t sit on the lower one correctly, but he didn t go any further with it and just gave me pain meds and muscle relaxers when I had a flare up. I have moved to a different state where the doctors are so less inclided to give out pain meds that I really don t take them. Not to mention that I can t afford to go into the doctor every 2 weeks. Needless to say that I am in pain everyday now. Most of the time it is bearable, but all I have to do is step wrong or bend over wrong and I get a sudden and really sharp pain in my lower back, that radiates into my hips. I have constant aching in my buttocks , back of my leg, and calf . My new doctor did an xray , and found that I have occulta spina bifida , and said that this must be what my other doctor saw on my MRI. My pain is all day long but can be managed with IBU, but I have what I call a flare up where I get a sudden shooting pain. It originates at my lower back and shoots into my hips. Once this happens I have pain going down my buttocks, back of my leg, and stops at my calf. When it flares up I have a harder time walking as it feels my hips and lower back are going to fall fowards. I can t bend over unless I turn my legs outwards and squat down with my legs to my sides. If I try to bend over any other way I can cause for this sudden shooting pain, and if it hurts enough I end up bed ridden for a couple of days. Also, it can happen when I am walking. Doctors here seem to act like I should be ok and that its all in my head, but its not.