Question: Hello, I am a 43 yo man in excellent health and fitness. Approximately one year ago I was walking on icy pavement and I slipped and landed flat on my back. Other than my pride being hurt I wasn't in pain. I got up and continued walking and slipped again this time I landed on my right side with my right femur taking most of the blow because I landed on a raised ridge of ice that impacted the right side of my femur about 3-4 inches below the hip socket. I had a bottle of Tylenol in my right pocket and I hit hard enough that it shattered the bottle and turned most of the pills to dust. This time I was in incredible pain and I was unable to stand for approx 5 minutes. When I did manage to get up I continued walking home but very slowly and with incredible pain. I have suffered broken bones in the past and this injury made me feel sick to my stomach and while I could walk it was with great pain. After 5 days I started to get a large bruise on my femur about 3-4 inches below the hip socket. I also had a large hard lump there as well. It did get better pain wise but I was unable to lift things or walk much without alot of pain for at least 4 weeks. After six weeks I relented and had it x-rayed since it was still bothering me especially at night. The dr who reviewed the x-rays and examined me said he could not see a break anywhere but noticed some narrowing of the spine in my lower back and prescribed very strong steroids. The steroids did work and took the pain away for some time. After about 45 days the pain started to come back but it was not as bad and was manageable especially compared to what it was. Last month, while at work, I had a cart of freight fall into the side of my leg and now it seems the pain is back just as bad at times. If my leg was normal this would not have hurt at all. It hurts in the same spot on my femur as well as in my hip socket and radiates thru into my groin just as before. My question is could I have fractured my leg, hip or socket or pelvis and it did not show up on x-rays? And could I have some nagging back/disc injury that incurred as well? Before this accident I lifted heavy weights 3-5 days a week and was in very good shape physically. I no longer lift weights with my legs as it feels just too unstable and the pain is wearing on me. I do lift upper body but usually just body weight type exercises now and not as often as I would like. I also do not go for long walks or hikes anymore. I never complain about pain and have always felt I have an above average pain tolerance. But this is wearing on my mentally and since this injury is going on close to a year now I am worried I may have really hurt something and am making it worse by not getting treatment. I own my own business and I never took time off due to this injury. Or anything else either. The pain does keep me up at night. I am on my feet alot during the day and although it hurts I can usually keep myself occupied and not think of it until I get home and relax and then it usually hits me the hardest. And driving any distance is getting to be very painful as well. Any advice on what I may have done and what I can do to take care of it would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Dr. XXXXXXX and thank you for your response. I do have alot of low back/hip pain that goes across both sides. I Do Not have any kind of tingling or numbness. Besides the low back pain my major pain comes from the original injury site and the surrounding area just feels very inflamed. I am glad that it is not fractured though. I do not lift weights with my legs anymore due to the pain and weakness. I may just be babying it too much. But it does feel like it could snap when I do too much lifting at work. If it is just lingering soft tissue damage I assume that will eventually heal but my main concern was the possibility of small cracks or any kind of displacement or disc damage. I am thinking about it too much I'm sure but the pain is constant and gets worse when I am at rest. Thank you.