How can you tell the difference between a pulled muscle or slipped disc

Hi Simon,

Sorry to hear that you're suffering with your back, hope it improves quickly for you! 

Usually we wouldn't suspect a disc problem unless someone was suffering from pain, pins and needles or numbness running down one or both legs in an episode like this. Unless you are suffering from pain in both legs, problems with bladder or bowel function, numbness in the saddle area or loss of strength in your legs, you're likely to be sent away from A+E. 

If you are really struggling, the best bet is to make a same-day appointment with your doctor who should be able to properly assess you and give you a short prescription of stronger pain killers.

Most episodes of back pain like this clear up within a few weeks, even when the initial pain is very severe. Pain clinics require a referral from the GP and only really see "chronic" conditions (over 3 months of pain) in the UK. 

Hope this helps, good luck!

Will

I have to agree with Sciaticawill. Everything he said is true. I just want to add that if you cannot get into your doctor immediately start putting ice on the part that hurts 20 minutes every hour, and take some ibuprofen. Both of these things will help reduce inflammation and inflammation is your enemy.

Or 20 mins on 20 mins off, keep doing it until you get relief you can't over do it😊

Hey simon17027, 

I would like to react on your question how to tell the difference between a pulled muscle or a slipped disc. I am an osteopath and in our education we learn the difference. When you pull a muscle you will feel that specific muscle as very tense, painful and stiff. This might have as result that you will feel the structures around that muscle as supersensitive. 

The symptoms with a slipped disc are reversed, when a disc is slipped this will put pressure on your nerves in that region which will have as symptoms that the muscles affected by those nerves will lose their sensitivity. For example, if it is your lower back, you will feel numbness in your legs (like they are sleeping) and later you might experience some power reduction.

As an osteopath the symptoms you are complaining about might suggest you are dealing with a somatic dysfunction (=vertebral blockage) due to your trauma. This also makes the structures around high sensitive and restrictive to movement. It can irritate the nerves coming from that level (vertebrae) and those increase the sensitivity of the muscles connected with them. We have different safety-techniques to determine whether it might be a hernia or just a joint restriction, once we’re sure we perform the treatment. A manipulation consists of a high velocity, low amplitude thrust. This to produce a joint cavitation. The manipulation may be accompanied with a releasing sound. (Maitland et al 2001) This releases the pressure on your nerves and should relieve your pain.

 

Hope this helped you.

Regards

 

Reference:

Maitland, G.D., Hengeveld, E., Banks, K., English, K. (2001) Maitland's Vertebral Manipulation. 6th ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.