Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Hello Doctor, I Met With A Car Accident 1.5 Months
Question: Hello Doctor,
I met with a car accident 1.5 months back, my car got hit by a truck from behind. I was sitting at the back seat of the car and was looking at the truck behind me when the truck hit. As a result, I got pain on the right side of the back. Doctor mentioned that the pain will go on its own. I waited for around 3 hours and pain slowly reduced. However, I started getting pain in the lower back (Right side) when I sit or drive for sometime. I went to an Orthopedic and he did an x-ray of the back (Spine etc). As per him, the spinal cord looks fine and there are no indications of Herniated disc. Also, he did other physical tests (For instance, Asked me to lay down and tried to move my leg in different directions) to make sure there is no nerve impingement.
After going through the xray report, doctor mentioned that it looks to be more of muscular pain as I was not sitting in a straight position (Was looking back) when the truck hit and I should go for Physical Therapy.
He gave an Steroid medicine and a muscle relaxant for 6 days.
I started the physical therapy around 1 month after the accident. The frequency of therapy is 1 day a week as of now since last 3 weeks. I started seeing the improvement in the pain. However, the therapist mentioned that the muscle in the lower back which is impacted looks to be stiff and is leading to the delay in recovery even with the physical therapy. He asked the orthopedic doctor to inject the trigger point injections (The one with steroid) in the lower back. I am little concerned to go for the trigger point injections as I heard this can lead to shrinkage of the fat under the skin, leaving a dent in the skin.
Request for your advice if I should go for the trigger point injection. Also, if I don't go for the trigger point injection, will the pain will go on its own with the physical therapy and its just that it will take more time? Please note that I have not performed any exercise at home apart from physical therapy (once a week for 1 hour) till now.
Thanks & Regards,
Ashish
I met with a car accident 1.5 months back, my car got hit by a truck from behind. I was sitting at the back seat of the car and was looking at the truck behind me when the truck hit. As a result, I got pain on the right side of the back. Doctor mentioned that the pain will go on its own. I waited for around 3 hours and pain slowly reduced. However, I started getting pain in the lower back (Right side) when I sit or drive for sometime. I went to an Orthopedic and he did an x-ray of the back (Spine etc). As per him, the spinal cord looks fine and there are no indications of Herniated disc. Also, he did other physical tests (For instance, Asked me to lay down and tried to move my leg in different directions) to make sure there is no nerve impingement.
After going through the xray report, doctor mentioned that it looks to be more of muscular pain as I was not sitting in a straight position (Was looking back) when the truck hit and I should go for Physical Therapy.
He gave an Steroid medicine and a muscle relaxant for 6 days.
I started the physical therapy around 1 month after the accident. The frequency of therapy is 1 day a week as of now since last 3 weeks. I started seeing the improvement in the pain. However, the therapist mentioned that the muscle in the lower back which is impacted looks to be stiff and is leading to the delay in recovery even with the physical therapy. He asked the orthopedic doctor to inject the trigger point injections (The one with steroid) in the lower back. I am little concerned to go for the trigger point injections as I heard this can lead to shrinkage of the fat under the skin, leaving a dent in the skin.
Request for your advice if I should go for the trigger point injection. Also, if I don't go for the trigger point injection, will the pain will go on its own with the physical therapy and its just that it will take more time? Please note that I have not performed any exercise at home apart from physical therapy (once a week for 1 hour) till now.
Thanks & Regards,
Ashish
Brief Answer:
You can improve with regular exercise.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The stiffness in the back muscles usually improves with physical therapy and regular back strengthening exercises.
The injections are needed only in case the pain is intense and improvement is not seen with other treatments.
You can also do a hot compress and massage the area with a local analgesic gel for increased blood flow in the area and to reduce pain and stiffness.
In case the pain is a mild one and is improving then there is no need to worry. Do start with some back muscle strengthening exercises at home also after consulting your physiotherapist.
In case an intense pain persists then do consider going for the injections. The small indentations due to injections are not permanent and they heal gradually.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
You can improve with regular exercise.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The stiffness in the back muscles usually improves with physical therapy and regular back strengthening exercises.
The injections are needed only in case the pain is intense and improvement is not seen with other treatments.
You can also do a hot compress and massage the area with a local analgesic gel for increased blood flow in the area and to reduce pain and stiffness.
In case the pain is a mild one and is improving then there is no need to worry. Do start with some back muscle strengthening exercises at home also after consulting your physiotherapist.
In case an intense pain persists then do consider going for the injections. The small indentations due to injections are not permanent and they heal gradually.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
