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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Fallen Down Stairs, Painful Lump, Breathlessness. Xray Required?

Hi, I fell down some concrete/metal stairs about a month ago. I had been inebriated at the time so I didn t feel any pain initially. Later that evening, I began to feel sharp pain in my back but (having forgotten about the fall) just chalked it up to my history of carrying a lot of tension in my back (as a violinist). By the end of the week, I was in pain no matter what I did. Sitting, standing, laying down, fetal position-- nothing helped. Hanging myself over the back of a chair (balance point being my middle/low stomach) helped a bit, but otherwise it was intense radiating pain. A relative of my friend with some experience in massage therapy took a look at my back. There was a large hard lump in the lower-middle of my back (among the highest lumbar vertebrae ) that I had thought was just part of my spine (seeing how hard it was) but which she said was definitely not supposed to be there. Massage helped relieve a lot of the pain, but the lump was still there, though smaller. My back remained generally stable during the next week (unless I carried a backpack in which case I would be in immediate intense pain and would remain in pain for the rest of the day). By the end of 7 days, though, the massage had lost its effect and I was in pain again. I received another massage that alleviated pain for about a week before I was in a lot of pain again. Sometimes the pain would just return of its own accord-- always radiating. Sometimes leaving me breathless . In the past 5 days or so, on a few occasions when my back has started hurting, my fingers, hands and arms have started ticking/spasming. Sometimes violently. Decreased some with advil . The lump is still there and pressing it is uncomfortable and gives me a sensation similar to free-falling. Should I go in for an x-ray or do you have an idea of what the injury might be?
Mon, 22 Oct 2012
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Spine Surgeon 's  Response
Thanks for the query. Injury to your back can cause muscle, ligament sprain or bony fracture. The lump may be a haematoma in the soft tissue. It may indicate significant injury to spine. Its better to get the xrays of the spine to rule out fracture. In case of back injury rest is the only way to relieve the pain. If you consider taking rest for few days, you will definitely feel better.Thanks.
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Fallen Down Stairs, Painful Lump, Breathlessness. Xray Required?

Thanks for the query. Injury to your back can cause muscle, ligament sprain or bony fracture. The lump may be a haematoma in the soft tissue. It may indicate significant injury to spine. Its better to get the xrays of the spine to rule out fracture. In case of back injury rest is the only way to relieve the pain. If you consider taking rest for few days, you will definitely feel better.Thanks.