back injuries, how do you know when they are serious?

[alr]

I landed a roll wrong a few days ago and am still having a lot of pain, so I was wondering: how long do you wait for an injury to improve before breaking down and going to the dr.? In my case it may be a few weeks because my insurance coverage does not start until january (long story - would never have intentionally gone uninsured but missed the window due to a miscommunication, etc., more argh than I can verbalize) but this is actually my first back injury and I'm not sure whether to take it more seriously than my usual leg injuries.

FTR, it feels like a hot needle shooting diagonally between my spine and tailbone and mostly hurts when I twist, bend, use that muscle right above my left glut, or get in and out of my car (which does all three). I am getting a little better daily, but had to get one of my kids to yank me upright after trying and failing for almost half an hour to sit up yesterday morning when I woke up. I think my specific instructions were: "grab both arms and pull me up as fast as you can. Ignore the screams." It ended up hurting so badly that I couldn't scream though, so she thought she was the awesomest helper ever and I sure let her think that while gasping for air.

Anyone else had this?

alr

[Alethea]

I have no personal experience with this, but after a bit of research and from what I know about injuries...

Couple questions for you. When you landed your bad roll, what kind of injury was it? could a disc be out of place, or did you tear something, or is it a neural thing? Bone, muscle or nerves, basically.

Nerves: Are you numb anywhere or are your extremities weaker/shakier? Does your pain give you fever, chills or sweats? Do you wake up at night because of pain? Do you have constant pain not decreased by rest? If you have any of these symptoms, it may be nerve or spinal cord compression, at which point your GP or an orthopedist should be consulted soon (not OMG run, but next couple days). Nerve injuries should absolutely NOT be treated by chiropractor. It will do damage.

Muscle: If it's a strain (muscle) or sprain (ligaments), you'll have muscle spasms and pain increased by activity and decreased by rest. This doesn't really need to be treated by a doctor, though you can for peace of mind or to get prescriptions. Rest rest rest for a few days, and you should start to feel better. Take anti-inflamatories (ibuprofin like advil and motrin, asprin, or something stronger with steriods if you get a prescription from your doctor) and acetominophen (Tylonal) for pain, or muscle relaxants if needed (again, prescription), and use hot and cold compresses. You'll have intermittant problems for up to several weeks, but if you take it easy (i.e., don't be Dantes) and let the injury heal, then progressively stretch and strengthen to work your way back to full function without aggrivating it, you'll be 100% in a few months. If you still have pain in 2 weeks, then get it checked out.

Bone: If you've put your spine out of alignment, which is likely if you had a bad fall, strained/sprained your back, and now have limited movement, a chiropractor can straighten you out again. Given your level of pain, though, wait until the inflamation is under control and you're in less pain, or it'll hurt like a sonofabitch and stiffen you right up. I prefer careful stretching/twisting and postural adjustement (i.e., bloody stand straight) to chiropractors for general wellness (we can't go in every week for the rest of our lives, after all), but they'd probably be a good idea for you since you cant twist yourself properly for the next while.

Good luck, alr. That sucks. I hope the ninja routine was fun, regardless.

btw, good to hear from you. I've missed you and your crazy shenanigans!