I need advice on my back pain??

Hi all, I'm a 22 year old female. Quick back story, last summer I fell on asphalt pretty hard, mostly on my knee. My back would hurt periodically and very mildly. Just over the past 2 months I have had back pain so severe that it keeps me awake at night, when I lay down I feel like my back is being split up the middle. Prescription narcotics, muscle relaxers, and steroids are NOT helping. Normal MRI and Xrays, and my doctors will never look into anything more than "sciatica". The pain can be so severe that I feel as if I'm losing my mind. Has anyone had a similar experience? I need relief for my own sanity and for my day to day life. Thank you for reading!

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your symptoms. Backache could be caused due to postural issues, neuro-muscular causes such as muscle sprain, nerve impingement, injuries to muscles/ ligaments, inflammations, spinal causes such as degeneration, micronutrient deficiencies, referred pain from other regions etc. MRI/ x-ray would rule out most structural causes, while other possibilities may need to be evaluated for. I would suggest getting this evaluated by an internist initially and depending on the cause diagnosed/ suspected, it can be managed accordingly or specialist care may be sought. Meanwhile you could take some tylenol/ OTC NSAIDS and see of these seem to help.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!