Persistant back problem

[baabi]

My girlfriend had a minor accident and her "left lower back" was hurt in the process. She had severe pain for a few days but later it decreased slowly. Her doctor said it was not a fracture and that maybe it was a muscle strain that will go away slowly.

Its been over 6 months and taking any kind of medication is not helping her. Her pain almost vanished until recently when she slipped and hurt the same area again and the pain returned.

The doctor still shows the same diagnosis that it is just a muscle strain and the medication recommended is not making her better at all. Even exercises are not fruitful. Please advise.

[mikkelev]

I'm not a doc by any stretch of the imagination, but I have (unfortunately) gone through a large aray within these past three years.  Without an MRI or CT, the only diagnosis a doctor can do is guess and wish in the wind.  If things were getting better but a slip made it worse, it could be something as simple..... but not always less painful, as a bulging disc.

If it's only a bulge, things can get better, but it can take a long period of time and being extra careful.  If your sister can, request and hound, and outright demand for more indepth testing.

If it is something worse than a bulge, the longer the damage is allowed to continue unchecked and untreated, the worse things will get.  Good luck with everything and I hope things get better.
Mikkel