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Suggest Treatment For Severe Back Pain In An Elderly Person With Arthritis
Question: I am a 70 year old active female in good health. I have arthritis in L 3&4 which has caused discomfort for a few days on 2 occasions in the past year. My orthopedist prescribes Mobic and in a couple of days I'm fine. Sometimes I take nothing more than Tylenol.
My home is in XXXXXXX OK, but currently visiting children in XXXXXXX For the last couple of days I've had occasional back pain and took Tylenol. Yesterday I had quite severe back pain that went away after about 30 min. This morning I awakened with excruciating back pain. I am in bed with an ice pack, Ibuprofen and Mobic. Pain is not too severe as I list in one position, but I can't change position or stand up or walk without a lot of pain. I have a high threshold for pain. Pain primarily on R side below waist and radiates down right leg. Should I go to Urgent Care or ER? Or will rest heal this? We are scheduled to drive home to XXXXXXX on Tuesday but I am miserable! Thank you!
My home is in XXXXXXX OK, but currently visiting children in XXXXXXX For the last couple of days I've had occasional back pain and took Tylenol. Yesterday I had quite severe back pain that went away after about 30 min. This morning I awakened with excruciating back pain. I am in bed with an ice pack, Ibuprofen and Mobic. Pain is not too severe as I list in one position, but I can't change position or stand up or walk without a lot of pain. I have a high threshold for pain. Pain primarily on R side below waist and radiates down right leg. Should I go to Urgent Care or ER? Or will rest heal this? We are scheduled to drive home to XXXXXXX on Tuesday but I am miserable! Thank you!
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The answer on whether you should go to the ER depends on what do you expect from that. If it is because the pain is too excruciating to bear then yes, it is justified to be given intravenous analgesics or at times even admitted for pain control with analgesics. So pain control will be the motive.
If on the other hand you hope to have some definitive treatment then that might not be the case. The initial management for your issue (probable nerve root compression due to a disk bulge or arthritic changes) is usually conservative, only pain killers and physical therapy. Only if the pain doesn't subside after a few weeks are more aggressive approaches like local injections or surgery considered.
An exception might be if there was paralysis of the limb or bladder control issues, in that case urgent imaging and surgery may be needed. When the clinical picture is that of pain though, only pain control is initiated
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The answer on whether you should go to the ER depends on what do you expect from that. If it is because the pain is too excruciating to bear then yes, it is justified to be given intravenous analgesics or at times even admitted for pain control with analgesics. So pain control will be the motive.
If on the other hand you hope to have some definitive treatment then that might not be the case. The initial management for your issue (probable nerve root compression due to a disk bulge or arthritic changes) is usually conservative, only pain killers and physical therapy. Only if the pain doesn't subside after a few weeks are more aggressive approaches like local injections or surgery considered.
An exception might be if there was paralysis of the limb or bladder control issues, in that case urgent imaging and surgery may be needed. When the clinical picture is that of pain though, only pain control is initiated
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
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
Answered by
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