Please give me much needed advice about lower back pain after a fall

by Brenda
(San Angelo, Tx)

Slump test for sciatica

Slump test for sciatica

4 days ago I took a hard fall on a tile floor in the bathroom. I went to the ER as I landed hard and was afraid I had hurt my elbow. After x-rays and a CAT scan I was sent home and told nothing showed up in the x-rays but if the pain got worse to go see my regular doctor. Yesterday, I got out of bed and experienced some significant pain in my left hip area and down my left thigh. It doesn't really hurt to walk but hurts like crazy if I lift my left leg, when sitting and when I sneeze. Can you tell me what may be going on?


Hello Brenda,
Sneezing belongs to a triad of pain, along with coughing and bearing down on the toilet, and one could add laughing, all activities that increase the pressure in the abdominal cavity and the disc; signs of a slipped disc.

However, this needs to be confirmed by other tests. Does it hurt if you slowly bend forwards? When sitting in a kitchen chair, if a friend raises your lower leg parallel to the ground, does it hurt in the back or leg?

If you take in a deep breath, and then bear down as though trying to do a bowel movement, does it hurt?

Sitting classically increases the pain if you've slipped a disc.

I don't believe in rushing off to the doctor every time one has a snivel or a little pain. But if your gut feeling is that this is something more, then certainly if it's not improving with three days you should consult someone knowledgeable about lower back pain.

Meantime, use alternating ice and heat, don't bend, sit less, try not to sneeze and do the gentle exercises you'll find in the navigation bar at Chiropractic Help.

Within a few days you'll know if it's improving or not.

I hope this helps.

Dr B

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