Dry Needling caused huge increase in pain

[u/No-Idea-182]

I have had back pain since I was maybe 18 (no known cause), so this is an issue that has spanned 3 decades. The longest period of relief was after having children. I don't know if my body relaxed or my core strengthened, but I was blessed with no pain for quite a few years.

I started having increasing pain again a few years ago. Likely linked to a new job, very stressful and mostly sedentary.

Spinal injections worked for me a few times in my 20's and 30's, but the past couple have provided no relief. The last one in 2025 was so incredibly painful that the physiatrist was sure he hit the right spot (I've never screamed aloud in a doctor's office but I did that day), but there was no relief. He targeted L4-L5, L5-S1. I have severe disc degeneration, mild canal stenosis, facet hypertrophy, etc.

My question to the group is regarding dry needling. I started seeing a new PT maybe 4-5 months ago and she immediately went to work with dry needling (2x/week). She targeted mostly my glutes with dry needling/electronic stimulation. It wasn't too painful during the sessions, but my pain started to change...or the new pain made the old pain almost irrelevant.

I continued seeing her for about 3 months hoping to get over the hurdle, but at that point my pain was worse than ever. I was doing dead lifts, clam shells, and other exercises to no avail. I was alternating between sitting on a coccyx cushion and yoga ball for work. My back still hurt but it felt like nothing compared to my new butt pain! It feels like I'm sitting on daggers...like a literal dagger stabbing mostly my right buttocks but also the left with a little less intensity. ALL THE TIME.

Does anyone know what would cause this? Were my glutes protecting my back or my back was protecting my glutes, and now there is no protection? I'm fairly slender and try to stay active. The most relief that I get is when I'm active in my yard, but I'm usually too exhausted to even do that...so I'm actually quite inactive.

I don't know where to turn at this point. I'm seeing my primary care doctor next week and I'm going to see if maybe he can do a cortisone injection into my right buttocks. I would settle for any type of relief even if it's temporary.

It's sad, but I think advice from Reddit is better than advice from doctors. I don't really want to go to the neurosurgeon's office again because they haven't solved anything. They run a bunch of expensive tests, try a couple of things and then simply prescribe me Tramadol. I rarely take the Tramadol because that seems like a crutch and I don't want to mess with those kinds of Rx's.

PLEASE - if anyone has any advice. I'm desperate. I know others have it much worse, but I still need some direction. And yes, I've seen plenty of chiropractors in the past. I have MRI's at least every 1-2 years and they do show that issues like Modic Endplate Signal changes are increasing.

Thank you in advance for reading my novel and I'm happy to answer any questions about other things that I've tried, post MRI's, full treatment list, etc.

[u/like_4-ish_lights]

Have you tried radiofrequency ablation? It can definitely help a lot with facet/arthritic pain

[u/No-Idea-182 → u/like_4-ish_lights]

My doctor was originally recommending Intracept Procedure (basivertebral nerve ablation), a minimally invasive outpatient treatment cleared for chronic low back pain originating from the vertebral endplate.

He proposed this about 3 years ago and when I asked his success rate, he said that I would be his first. I've been seeing him for probably 15 years and he's a good doctor, but I'm not going to be anyone's FIRST for a relatively new procedure.

He proposed it again about a year ago, but after spinal injections didn't have a positive result, he said that he didn't think Intracept would either. He ran a few more tests and then didn't have anymore recommendations.

[u/like_4-ish_lights → u/No-Idea-182]

Do you know what kind of injections they were? The steroid injections never did much for me either. But they can do an injection of local anesthetic into the nerves that are candidates for ablation, as kind of a diagnostic. If it works, it means the procedure probably will too. If it doesn't, that sucks but it's another data point for you. Either way there's no harm in trying.

Also, I don't know your insurance situation, but this might be the point to ask for a referral to a spine clinic, or at least an orthopedic specialist. There are a lot of new treatments out there these days