Would an HNP at L5 cause spasms in the poplitial muscle as well as the lower back?

I'm sorry. After locking this up I realized my inability to give you a
definitive answer. However, I can help you out by providing you
information that should help you.

First of all, I am not a doctor and never played one on TV. My first
tip is that the muscle you refer to as "poplitial" is really spelled
popliteal. If you were unable to find any information by searching the
Internet, you now know the reason.

Secondly, I am providing some urls below that will direct you to
medical related sites that have an "ask the doctor" feature.

Doctor Zeman <http://sportsdrz.com/>
A sports doctor with a radio show. 
Curriculum Vitae <http://sportsdrz.com/About%20DrZ/about.htm>
As Dr. Zeman <http://sportsdrz.com/askdrz.html>


Spine - Health.Com <http://www.spine-health.com/>
About spine - health.com
<http://www.spine-health.com/about/about01.html>
Spine - health's "ask the doctor" feature
<http://www.spine-health.com/paypal/intro.html>

Finally, if you'd like to communicate with others suffering from back
problems access a support group that offers a messageboard service.
One such service can be located at this link:
<http://www.healthboards.com/cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Back+Problems&number=14&DaysPrune=75&LastLogin=>

I hope this helps you find the answers you need. If you need further
clarification on anything I've provided here please respond.

Rapidreference-ga

I'm hoping this information will lend a little more insight into this
question.

http://www.medmedia.com/05/227.htm
Clearly indicates that there will be some effects on the poplitial
muscle from an injury to the L5 area.

http://www.medmedia.com/05/257.htm
This chart also adds other muscle groups effected by an injury in that
area.

I am currently the proud owner of several herniated discs in my upper
back t3-t12 (never lift anything...forget lift with your knees, or any
other note. Never lift anything is my new motto.) The most basic and
simplest description I was ever given in regards to nerve issues
relating to spine injuries is that anything parallel or below can
possibly be affected by this injury. I personally have seen wonderful
nerve issues like diaphragm interruptions (hiccups for hours),
numbness tingling and shooting pain in the lower extremeties.
Digestive issues, and a host of other fun times. I hope you can
recover quickly and would be more then happy to help clarify any
future responses to this question.

Mother911-ga

google search on keywords:
"popliteal muscle"