First, I'm a tall 22 year-old male who's had back muscle problems for the past few months, and have been seeing a chiro regularly for adjustments, which seem to be helping alot with the lower muscles back there. So anyway, Monday evening I was biking home from work as usual, and upon biking up a big hill, I leaned forward and felt a very faint "pop" in my very lower back, right above my butt-crack. I immediately stopped, and could only stand up perfectly straight otherwise the pain would be so intense to the point of nearly passing out.

I walked around a little and tried doing some bending and it seemed to loosen up a little bit. I got back on my bike and made it home. It was sore for the rest of the night and most of Tuesday, but no intense pain. Just sore. I took some Advil for the pain and it seemed to help.

So fast forward to last night (Wednesday night). I was bent over hooking up my PS2 when I suddenly felt that same shooting pain in my lower back, in the exact same spot. I immediately stood up and waddled to the couch where the pain wasn't going away. I could barely move as each motion seemed to cause extreme stabbing pain right in that area above my butt. I took an ice-pack and placed it over the affected area, and the pain went to a soreness, but any time I bent over or moved too much it hurt again. I also had a sore left groin area very faint numbness in my left leg. I slept through the night without moving too much, and I can actually move about if I have to. The pain only seems to come when I bend backward or forward. I can twist with no problems and can do most common movements without pain. It's constantly sore but there is no more stabbing pain or numbness.

I did some reading about the lower area of the back and there is something called "scialitia" (not sure on spelling), and it described some of the symptoms I am experiencing. I'll bring it up with my chiro tomorrow but I just need some advice/opinions from you guys.

Thanks :)

Hi Chris. I don't think you're going to be pleased with my answer to you, but here it is anyway.....stay away from your chiropractor! At least for now. What you need to do is see your family doctor and ask that an MRI be done. You need to find out whether you have any kind of serious problem going on before you allow a chiro to make "adjustments" as, if there is a problem such as a bulging disc, a chiro can make it much worse!

If, after getting an MRI, nothing shows up of any consequence, then maybe going back to the chiro would be alright; but truth to tell, they do more harm than good in most cases. In any case, you need a firm diagnosis before undergoing any more adjustments or manipulations; if you do have a problem, you certainly don't want it to get worse!

In the meantime, you might try using ice to the area of the back that is hurting so badly. Some kind of OTC med like ibuprofen might help with the discomfort as well. If ice doesn't seem to help, you can try using heat until you get the MRI done.

Best of luck to you and please do let us know what your dr says.

Carol

I 2nd Carol's advice.

Diet and Carol are right. It could be something that only Spinal Ortho is competent to help you with. So do yourself a favor: don't spend money on chiro, go straight to Ortho Dr. Perhaps nothing is seriosly wrong with your back, so maybe PT will be helpful. But only Dr and some tests can determend this.
Good luck to you!