Joe, the pain does NOT go down the back thigh. And many times it CAN radiate to the front to the shin. The key word here is "radiate."

I many times have pain in my shin. And many times the pain is NOT "regular" or "normal" for sciatica. But I DO have sciatica!! It's just that it radiates from other areas.

How long has this pain been going on, from start to finish? Because the AVERAGE time to become permanent, is 18 months. If it hasn't been resolved in that amount of time, the damage is permanent. I hope you haven't been going thru this for that long. I would certainly hate to think You'd have to end up like me. This has been miserable, trying to find a doctor who had the GUTS to treat me. The stupid government has hassled doctors so badly, that they're all AFRAID to prescribe the proper medications to keep us comfortable.
I was lucky enough to find one that thumbs his nose at the government.

Try to attach your MRI to your post. I'm NOT that good at reading the FILMS. I'm better at deciphering the written reports! A member here, Dubious is MUCH better at reading the films, but I'm not sure he's here. Some people were very nasty to him recently, and he may have left, although I begged him to stay. I hope he did.

Hope to talk to you soon. Hugs, Lee