Pain in Lower Back Shooting Down Leg

[Ares227]

I've noticed the past couple weeks that my back, specifically the lower area has been hurting. Nothing too serious though. Today at work, however, it was pretty bad. It was a spot on my lower side, about 4 inches to the left of my spine. I attributed it to the fact that I had been bending over a lot in an hour to pick up stuff off the floor, and to get things out from low cupboards,etc. (I'm 6ft 4, or so, so everything is low to me. And crouching is very painful, as my lateral and medial menisci on my left knee are both torn.)  Anyhow, after about an hour I noticed that the pain was shooting down my left leg every step I took. It was ending at my knee, sort of in the middle. I thought I was going to pass out. (To put it in perspective, about 3 years ago I fell 8 feet and broke several ribs on my right side. I walked about 1.5 miles to my house, and didn't go see a doc until 3 weeks later. That's when I found out they were broken. Then I re-broke them about a month or so later. That was the most painful thing I've ever experienced...especially when sneezing.)

Also, I noticed that when I raised my right arm, I would feel intense pain in my lower left back. The pain was sharp/stabbing pain.

My question is this: Should I go see a doc or wait to see if it improves at all? The only reason I want to wait is because I'm afraid my doctor is going to think I'm a hypochondriac and stop seeing me. In the past 2 years, I've seen him for numerous cases of moderate to severe joint pain (hips, knees, ankles, etc), along with the normal things you see a doc for (colds, sore throat, etc). Oh..and I'm only 22.

Secondly, could there be a correlation between raising your right arm and pain in your left side? The only thing I can think of, is I may have raise my arm and extended my body to the right, causing my back to...flex? to the right.

Lastly, I noticed the shooting pain down my leg wasn't *as bad* when I stood up completely straight and limped.

Thanks!

[bigsissie]

You are welcome I hope you are feeling better soon. Best wishes, Sissie

[Ares227]

Thank you very much!

No numbness or tingling, but I would definitely see a doc before I could post about it anywhere if I had that. Numbness/tingling, coupled with pain, brings to mind all sorts of bad things.

[bigsissie]

It sounds to me that your back is out of place and may be pinching a nerve and pulling on your back muscles. When you are out of alignment things like reaching or bending can cause a very bad pulling sensation in the areas around the spot that is out of place because your muscles are no longer in the correct positions. There are several things that can actually cause the alignment to be out. It can be as simple as just needing to see a chiropractor and be adjusted to needing a mri to have your disc checked.
If I were you, regardless that you are only 22, I would ask the dr for a mri since it seems that you are having a lot of problems with your joints from your waist down. I was barely 21 when I herniated 3 disk and now have permanent nerve damage. Be sure to go asap if you have any numbness or tingling as that is a sign of serious compression on your nerves and can lead to the damage.
On another note since I had surgery my back goes out of alignment very easily and one of the first things I notice is I start having problems with my left hip and knee. Also have a shooting pain that goes down my leg. So the problems with your hips knees and ankles could all stem from your back. There is a very good nerve conduction chart on my profile that may help you a bit, I suggest you look at it and see if any of your other problems correlate with where you are having back pain. If you have any questions feel free to message me. Best wishes, Sissie.