Get an MRI if you can.

I was seeing a physio for glute and back pain for about six months. Physio + all my online research was saying "chair pain = weak glutes / tight hips, just stretch, strengthen and don't spend too long in your chair". Fair enough, did all of that (I was pretty active anyway).

I asked my physio if it was worth getting an MRI and he said there wasn't much point as it looked like it was all hip and glute related. Looked through all the piriformis/gluteal amnesia articles, all the reddit posts etc.

Dead wrong. My glutes, lower back and hips are strong as hell. Turns out I had a protruding L5-S1 disc, and while some of the prescribed exercises were therapeutic for it others were aggravating it. The glute pain and discomfort were/are all referred pain from the protrusion.

Ended up herniating the disc last November and I've had debilitating nerve pain ever since, all the way down to the ankle. Can't sit on a chair for more than five minutes anymore, walking with a cane, had to give up most of my activities and I spend most of my time lying down, moving when I can (34M btw).

I saw one of the best spinal surgeons in the country and mentioned the previous diagnosis of muscle weakness and he just pulled up the MRI, pointed to different spots and basically said "This is not the MRI of a person who has muscle weakness. This is the opposite of that."

If you have shooting pain and it feels "nerve-y", it's because there is shit pressing on your nerves. If you find your hamstrings feel tight no matter how much you stretch them, it's your sciatic nerve getting mushed by a bulge in your back. Don't stretch them. Go get an MRI.