I need help for back pain

[BadBird]

Help!!!

I woke up 3 days ago in severe pain in my lower back and down the back of my right leg. I can't stand without crutches and the pain makes me cry. I called my Dr. who prescribed Vicodin, Norflex , and a medrol dose pack. I was supposed to see him today but I can't get out of bed. Has anyone experienced this before, any suggestions would be appreciated.

[MollyJ]

We used to tell our back patients to:

Avoid sitting in place or standing in place for extended periods of time.

Do not lay flat on your back in bed. Keep some flex on the spine. So that means:

Lay on your side with your knees flexed and your hips flexed. Pillows at the back and between knees can be helpful when side lying.

If you must lay on your back for a while, put a couple of pillows under your knees.

Ice for the first 24 hours after injury and then heat or ice, whichever feels the best. Worked with a kinda strange ED doc who advocated ice in small trashbag and wear two tee-shirts to hold the ice in place on your lower back and protect skin. I think it sounds like the voice of experience.

These were always helpful to me in my minor moments of back pain, which BTW occured once I had left clinical nursing to do case management which included extended car time.