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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Sudden Cracking Noise And Pain In The Back?

So, my 30 year old son and I were out, at a buffet. He was standing at the buffet, and he explains something popped in his back. It took his breath away, and he was having a hard time standing up. It is about an hour later now, and the pain is still there, not as intense and no effect on breathing. The pain is actually to the far right side of his back...closer to his side (lower back). Any ideas on what would cause that kind of pain...with sudden onset, when he was not doing anything that would strain a muscle?
posted on Tue, 21 Mar 2017
Twitter Sat, 6 May 2017 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 8 May 2017 Last reviewed on
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Orthopaedic Surgeon,  's  Response
Hi there. Looks like your son with the prior history of pain over the far right side of back and difficulty in standing up has developed a spasm of the back muscle. These muscle spasms need not be always related to what the affected individual was doing at the time of having the onset of pain, but can be related to any abnormal posturing such as bending for a long time prior to the onset of the pain which would have fatigued his back muscles. The pop sound he heard or felt could be probably a disc problem that may lead to a secondary spasm, so if he is having a persisting pain radiating to the right side alone and not subsiding with rest and pain medications, kindly get a MRI scan of the spine and get him evaluated. So in the acute setting a few days of bed rest, local analgesic ointment, a 3 day course of tramadol should be enough. In case of pain radiating down the leg or the hip, or any weakness of lower limb on one side, get additional scans and get him checked.
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What Causes Sudden Cracking Noise And Pain In The Back?

Hi there. Looks like your son with the prior history of pain over the far right side of back and difficulty in standing up has developed a spasm of the back muscle. These muscle spasms need not be always related to what the affected individual was doing at the time of having the onset of pain, but can be related to any abnormal posturing such as bending for a long time prior to the onset of the pain which would have fatigued his back muscles. The pop sound he heard or felt could be probably a disc problem that may lead to a secondary spasm, so if he is having a persisting pain radiating to the right side alone and not subsiding with rest and pain medications, kindly get a MRI scan of the spine and get him evaluated. So in the acute setting a few days of bed rest, local analgesic ointment, a 3 day course of tramadol should be enough. In case of pain radiating down the leg or the hip, or any weakness of lower limb on one side, get additional scans and get him checked.