Question
Hi, and thank you for taking the time to read my question.  I'm in aLOT of pain right now.  I do have spondylosis, but I think this is an unrelated pain issue.

I sometimes have lower back pain and on Oct. 3, I drove out of town with my spouse.  The drive was about 3 hours, and I felt OK until the morning of Friday Oct. 5. (I had some minor back pain but attributed it to my menstrual cycle).

Then the lower back pain started getting worse.  We left town the next day and by Sunday night the pain had radiated from my lower right back to my right hip, upper right thigh and right groin/pelvic area.  I took ibuprofen which helped some, but finally went to the Doctor Monday afternoon and he gave me a corticosteroid injection which didn't help much.  

I went back to the Doctor on Wednesday and he gave me Toradol, which alleviated the pain significantly, until this morning. I'm back in major pain again, and my doctor will not be back til Tuesday with no one on call.  

He diagnosed the problem as most likely being a pinched nerve root, but couldn't say for sure without an MRI.  Right now I'm just looking for some pain relief - I'm leery of taking too much medication, and want to know the best way to handle this.  I'm afraid I'll end up in the ER getting another Toradol shot if this doesn't ease up soon. Also, is there a  timeline for this type of injury and when it will start to heal on it's own?  

Thanks,

Jackie

Answer
Hi Jackie,

Sorry to hear about your situation.  Assuming this is NOT related to your spondylosis, since you already saw a doctor,  I think there are some things you can do.

If it's not your spondolysis and you didn't have any trauma to the area from a fall or accident, etc. then it's most likely a soft tissue issue.  When your muscle tissue in certain areas gets too tight it can pull the bones out of position and negatively affect the nerves.  Some call this a "pinched nerve," but it's being "pinched" by inappropriately tight muscle tissue.

Take a moment and think of all the muscles in your entire body like the rigging (ropes) on a big old fashioned sailboat.  If some of the rigging (muscles) get too tight they can yank on the bones and force them into less than optimal positions.  If the big strong muscles in your hips and thighs get too tight, they will pull your hip bones and tailbone out of position and then your lower back muscles will often seize as they try to maintain their position in the tug of war they are now engaged in versus much stronger and bigger muscles in your hips and thighs.

When it comes to chronic structural pain, usually WHERE it hurts is not WHY it hurts. If you think about the biggest pieces of rigging on a sailboat getting too tight, they will pull and snap the smaller pieces of rigging, but the problem is the bigger stronger pieces of rigging being too tight.  I explain all of this in great detail on my FREE website:
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/

Basically, you probably have really tight hips, hamstrings, quads, etc. that are negatively affecting the nerves that come from your lumbar vertebrae and run down your hips and legs.
I have videos that show you how to release all of this. All you need to do is follow along.

On this left hand side of the page scroll down and click on the Lower Back Relief Pain Page:
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/lower-back-pain-relief.html
or the Hip Pain Relief Page
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/hip-pain-relief.html
You can also go to the Site Map page and see every single page on the website, where you can pick whatever describes your pain the best:
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/joint-pain-relief-site-map.html
I'm also guessing this page could be important, where I show you how to "release the front of your back":
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/lower-back-pain-remedy.html

If you release the right muscle group(s) your pain should improve pretty quickly.

I do hope this helps.  

Best,

Gary Crowley