What Causes Acute Back Pain On Bending?

Posted on Mon, 30 Jun 2014

Question: Two days ago I bent over from a standing position to align my shoes to slide into. I stood up and was totally immobilized by severe pain - the likes of which I've never experenced in my life. I couldn't move an inch in any direction without this pain. I finally slid down to the floor where I remained on my hands and knees for over an hour. My husband heard me moaning and came downstairs at which point he wanted to call an ambulance. I declined it. It's just a back I thought, it'll get better in a day or two. I had some pain pills left over, so I took them and was able to get to the bed. I've had back pain on and off for three decades, but absolutely nothing compared to this. I mean - this is real pain. It ranges from just above the waist to the bottom of my tailbone.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (15 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Disc prolapse likely.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
A sudden acute pain that you had is likely to be due to an acute disc prolapse or a muscle spasm in the back due to excessive bending down. The main treatment of such problem is bed rest along with pain killers and muscle relaxants. Muscle relaxants can help with your symptoms if used in appropriate dosage in combination with a potent analgesic. You can get these prescribed from your orthopedician.
Local analgesic gels and hot fomentation may provide a short term relief. You can use analgesic gels like Volini gel. Exercise is not advisable in the times of acute pain.
Using an LS contour belt of appropriate size might be helpful in providing support to back muscles.
Physiotherapy also plays a major role in treating such conditions. Epidural steroid injections have been used if oral pain killers are not very effective. Discuss with your orthopedician and an appropriate treatment can be planned depending on the response to medical drugs.

I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

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

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (24 minutes later)

Thank you for your prompt reply Dr. Tayal. Have you ruled out a herniated disc? The only reason I ask is that I never knew that a simple, run of the mill muscle spasm could cause this kind of pain. I've always prided my ability to withstand pain, now I feel like a bit of a whimp for even bringing this up.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (30 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Herniated disc is the likely cause.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
Herniated disc is same as disc prolapse. This needs to be ruled out after an MRI scan. A muscle spasm is the second possible cause.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

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