Have Sprained Back And Having Lower Back Pain. Take Pain Medicine. What To Do?

Posted on Thu, 21 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 Answered on

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I do not want a precise answer. Just a probability. I sprained my back a week ago by a freak movement putting something in my pocket. I can walk, drive and am comfortable sitting or lying down. I have pain medicine. The problem is that the pain in my lower back is so bad at times that I wionder if a sprain can turn into something else. Is it fair to expect that in most cases a sprain will correct itself if given enough time?

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: Thank you for posting your query. Detailed Answer: Hi, Based on the description of your symptoms and the precipitating event, it is fair to expect that it would correct itself over a period of time and you would be symptom-free within a few days to 1-2 weeks. To facilitate recovery, rest is important. In addition, you should avoid lifting heavy weights and also avoid forward bending. At this point, taking pain medications is fine. If the symptoms do not improve, an MRI of the lumbar spine may be done to correctly identify the problem. I hope it helps. Please get back if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar