Is lower right-sided back pain along with stiffness a serious concern?
Patient: Hello, I am a 33 year old male who is morbidly obese and who recently started having pain in my lower right side of my back. Pain is sharp and roughly a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. It is made worse by trying to stand, move, stretch or move my arm in various ways. The area of pain also feels stiff and tight. I ve taken pain killers and its done very little to help. Is this serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER? Doctor: Hi i am Dr Ahmed Aly    thanks for using HealthcareMagic site ,I had gone through your question and understand your concerns ..   In my opinion i think you have a kind of sciatica due to nerve compression , sometimes such neuropathic pain subsides simultaneously with rest and even without medications .   You may try to avoid heavy lifting , bad sleeping or sitting postures , over weighing , obesity and vigorous movements will be helpful .  Physiotherapy sessions with a good chiropractor , spinal straightening exercises , hot massages and even yoga are of very good value in most of cases also decreasing your weight prevents further pressure on your spine and thus lowering the compression on your spinal nerve roots .   For my patients i recommend painkillers like advil tabs when needed , hot massaging with topical gels of anti-inflammatory , B12 vitamin supplements , muscle relaxants will be helpful in most of cases , in more severe cases steroid tabs or injections are prescribed .   If pain persists after physiotherapy and medications i recommend MRI on spine to exclude disc herniation or any spinal injuries and follow them up with your neurologist for proper evaluation and management . Please click and consider a 5 star rating with some positive feedback if the information was helpful. Wish you good health,Any further clarifications feel free to ask.