When Can A Specialist Be Consulted For Back Pain While Taking Prednisone And Muscle Relaxers?

Posted on Fri, 16 Mar 2018

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

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 Answered on

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 Last reviewed on

Question : When do you decide to find a specialist for back pain. My doctor has given me two torodol shots this week,plus I started taking prednisone, and yesterday she gave me a muscle relaxer to take late I the evening. I had back x-rays done yesterday. She set me up for a follow up visit in 4 weeks.

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (37 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It is the right time to consult orthopedist.

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

Assuming the amount of medicines you have been given, it is the right time to consult an orthopedist. X-rays are good tests to diagnose fractures. However, they are not good if you want to see a spine disc compression. It would be much better to have a spine MRI done and than consult an orthopedist. You may need some surgery to get rid of the pain, especially if you have some limb weakness or numbness.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Dr. Grzegorz Stanko
General Surgeon

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