Question
I was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler carrying a 33,000 pound load when I was 36 weeks pregnant. My truck was totaled, not to mention I was towing a horse trailer and horse. I experienced early labor and slight low back pain that evening and was admitted to the hospital. Two weeks later, my back went out on me as I was putting on a sock. I felt the shift above my right buttock near my spine. I immediately fell to the floor and was unable to walk or put pressure on either leg for a period of days and it took two week before I could walk normally. Because I was pregnant, no MRI or CT was done. I had horrendous back pain in the spot where I felt my back "shift" during labor. My OB/GYN just assumed it was a slipped disk and I saw a chiropractor for about six weeks after I delivered. My back went out on me again in the same spot approximately three months after the delivery. An MRI was finally done and showed a herniated disk. My question is, is this definitely, or most likely, a result of the car accident? This was my third pregnancy, I am only 32 years old and in good health and shape with minimal weight gain during all of my pregnancies. I have never experienced back pain like this before.

Answer
Hello, Alyssa,

It's common for people to go into muscular contraction in reaction to an incident of the type you described.  Sometimes, the contraction is strong enough to squeeze vertebrae together and cause discs to bulge.  That may be the case, here.

If you were my client, I would be checking for contracted muscles in your low back.  If that's why I found, I would take you through a procedure in which you learn to relax the area.  Usually, problems disappear once relaxation has occurred.

You might consult a clinical somatic educator (my field):
list:  hannasomatics.com/practitioners

If you need a self-help program, I can make a recommendation.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold