GuidelinesOther guideline
Lumbosacral Root Pain
This booklet is intended as a practical guide to patient care for registrars, medical officers, interns and medical students attached to the gynaecology units at the University of the Witwatersrand Academic Hospitals. Anyone can use it.
This is referred pain, it can be misdiagnosed as chronic PID.
Diagnosis
- There is almost never a history of known back injury. There is associated back pain
- The pain is typically worse on movement or on rising in the morning
- The pain may be worse on stooping or lifting
- There are no abdominal or pelvic signs
- There may be marked point tenderness of the lumbosacral spine or sacro-iliac joint
Management
- The patient should avoid lifting heavy objects
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen 400 mg orally 3 times daily)
- Recommend sleeping on a firm supportive bed
- Stooping to load washing machines, hang washing, when cleaning – should be avoided
- Relaxing in a hot bath & pulling the left knee to the chest on the right & vice versa can relieve back spasm
- Avoid love-making positions that exacerbate the pain (e.g. when the man enters the woman from behind)