Hello Tom,
I'm just reading this and I have to ask the question - any chance you are taking statin drugs (Crestor, Zocor, Lipitor , etc)? I hate to throw a spanner into the works but.... here is why I ask...
Part of my pain used to be a severe tightness in my leg muscles, and pervasive aching all through my pelvis and into my legs and feet. The weakness in my legs was remarkable, too. I had other symptoms as well and a diagnosis for spondy with slippage and severe stenosis and pars defects and so on . Thus, we sure thought the tightness and achiness and weakness were all a part of my 'bad back'. Then, almost a year ago I began having some fairly serious neuro symptoms: vision problems, and vertigo. This was clearly NOT part of my back problem so I was sent to a specialist neorologist who took one look at my meds, saw I was on Zocor, and took me off of it. And I started to get better immediately. Oh, I still have a bad back and pain BUT I have never had that particular muscle tightness again and the bi-lateral weakness is mostly gone and that horrid grinding, pervasive aching is no more.
I hesitate to add that I have also had surgery and much PT so I don't offer anything as 'proof'. But I offer it as a point to consider. Best of luck-Suzy-Q