I felt a sharp pain in the right lower back after I bent forward. Please help.

Question

Hi doctor,

Yesterday, I bent down to pick up a grocery bag, and suddenly I felt a sharp pain in the lower right region of my back. And ever since, I have had sharp pains in that area whenever I walk, bend over or if I place my weight over my right hip, and whenever I put pressure on my right leg whilst walking. It especially hurts when coming up those positions. When I am not moving, I have no pain. My mom thinks it is a pulled muscle, but it does not have an aching type of pain. The pain is more sharp and intense when moving. Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your predominant complaint is of pain in the right lower back, which is aggravated by bending forwards and walking. There are two possibilities:

Muscle spasm or strain in your muscles of the gluteal area. This is a self-limiting problem, and it will settle in few days if the pain is affecting your day to day life, then try NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) for few days.
Prolapsed lumbar disk, but such kind of pain usually radiates to one of the limbs.

I would not think of fracture because it will be associated with deformity of the limb and will not allow you to walk. I would suggest an x-ray of the spine along with right hip.

Regards.

For more information consult an internal medicine physician online