back injury

I injured my back while lifting a child out of the  bath tub. There is pain in my buttock radiating down my leg to the thigh left leg and to the foot on the right there is burning in my private area in my right thigh with numbness and tingling. what does these symptom suggest?.

[caregiver222]

You have out-of-the-textbook symptoms of sciatica, which is due to compression of a nerve in the lumbar region. Even though the pain is elsewhere the problem is a pinched nerve in the lumbar region.

Probably the injury was due to a previous lift and when you picked up your child it was the so-called "straw that broke the camal's back".

From her on out you should severly restrict your lifting and only lift properly.

No lifting at all for a couple of weeks.

The best thing to do is to go to a physical therapy specialist (NOT a chiropractor) and they will instruct you on specific exercises.

A physician ususually verifys the diagnosis with an MRI of the lumbar spine.

Unfortunately, these injuries are usually forever. If you take care of them the pain will go away, but they can get worse if not really watched.

There are many miles (or kilometers for readers in other countries) down the road before a surgical option is considered. This is generally what is called a laminectomy. Make sure they don't talk you into this except as a last resort.

Do a search on sciatica for the rest of the information.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. Although without being able to examine you I can not offer you the specific advice on diagnosis and treatment that you need, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about your health concern.

I do sympathize with your back injury concern. Symptoms may originate due to nerve root pressure, pressure on the spinal cord and pressure on the tail bone. Common symptoms could be paralysis of muscles, pain radiating to the arms or legs, leg pain and numbness, tingling, or weakness. Warning symptoms can include loss of control of the bladder function, numbness/pain at genital areas, paralysis & spasticity of both the legs. In addition, if you are suffering continuous weakness and notice reduced strength of muscle bulk in leg, please arrange an appointment with a neurologist right away. Further referral to a physiotherapist for spinal exercises could be beneficial and may produce relief of symptoms. Hope this helps. Take Care & Stay Healthy!!!