Also, consider the possibility that the elbow problem might be a compressed ulnar nerve. I have both cervical and lumbar issues. The neck was the first problem but I felt had been corrected as I had been without significant symptoms for years. Suddenly I had radicular pain going down to the pinkie and ring finger. It got progressively worse over the course of two years. I finally told my pain doc about it and got a good chewing out for not telling him sooner. He wanted to do a nerve conduction study but I thought that was foolish as the problem had to be that my neck had gone south and wanted to go straight to the MRI, myelogram and on into surgery. Thankfully, I kept my mouth shut for a change and had the study. It was a compressed ulnar nerve. Dang!!!!!! Just in case that might be part of your problem, the repair was a cakewalk compared to spinal surgery. Best wishes and DO get to the bottom of this.