severe back/leg pain

I recently started having severe back pain after shoveling snow/ice (about 4
weeks ago).

Since Saturday, the pain has gone into my left leg -- pretty severe.

P/T seems to think it might well be nerve root pain and so far P/T is not
helping.

Question: once back pain also turns into leg pain, does this mean it won't
go away via therapy?? Am I doomed to surgery (which I probably am not a
candidate for due to degenrative disk disease at a variety of levels) or
injections or stronger stuff. Or are exerises still possible to relieve the
back/leg pain. In the past, I've had lots of back pain problems but usually
found the key to overcoming it (extra walking and/or exercise). I've never
had the leg pain.

A final question: is there a newsgroup dedicated to back pain??? I can't
seem to find one on my server. What about some kind of back pain forum on
the internet?

Mel



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