What causes bruising and pain in the lower spine after a fall?
Patient: I fell down bottom 2 stairs,lurched forward and then back. I fell on my buttock and the bottom of my spine. This was 2 days ago. I have a nice bruise but no pain when I feel arround the spine but going up staisrs and moving certain ways causes sharp pain. Is this just bruisinfg which will sort itself out I am 72! Doctor: Hello,  Well, there is really no way to predict without an x-ray what the status of your skeleton is since it sounds as if you took a pretty could clobbering falling to your buttock.    You likely have a condition known as COCCIDYNIA (extremely painful bruising of the COCCYX or tailbone).    This is usually not treatable, even if fractured because it is such a small and inaccessible bone.  Whether or not you may have suffered a bone chip or compression fracture of one of the lumbar vertebrae can only be known if you get an X-ray.   You would be making a smart move to call your doctor in the morning to get an order for some testing and maybe even a good physical exam as a follow up to what happened.  Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  Take care  Regards, Dr Dariush Saghafi, Neurologist