I sneezed and hurt my hip, what to do?

July 2, 2018 2:11 PM

I was packing for a trip yesterday. I was twisting my body while placing a book on my bed and I sneezed violently (Manchester fires, air pollution), which threw my hip out of whack—I felt a pop and my leg went numb. I laid on my back for an hour and then powered through. I’m now in Menorca and things have gotten much worse.

I flew to Menorca this morning. The plane ride was horrible, really painful. I’ve managed today with codeine, ibuprofen and alcohol. Things were fine until late this evening when I sneezed again and am immobilised. My partner and his brother in law helped/carried me to our room but I can’t move really. What have I done and what do I do?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

IAMAD. This sounds like acute sciatica, but you should be checked out in the emergency department to be on the safe side.
posted by coppermoss at 2:16 PM on July 2, 2018 [6 favorites]

I think you need at least a neuro/ortho exam, if not x-rays. If you're at a hotel, have one of your family members go down to the front desk and find out what the best options are. If you're in private accommodations you may have to google.

Maybe you just did some nasty soft tissue damage, but the concern would be that you've herniated or in some other way damaged a disc or pinched a nerve.

Probably the emergency department of the closest recommended hospital is going to be where you need to go; I don't know that I'd try to ride this out all night if you are in that much pain.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:21 PM on July 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

I agree that this sounds like potentially a bulging disc with sciatica. The way you hurt it is classic--a twisting position plus some kind of force. If you've lost any control over your bladder or other functions, go to the hospital NOW. If you can, I recommend lying on the floor on your stomach. (Do not do this on the bed--you need a firm surface. If you can't get down on the floor and back up, that's another sign that you need to go to the doctor.)

If lying on the floor on your stomach doesn't cause you more pain and/or tingling in your leg, try lying there propped up on your elbows. This is from a book by Robin McKenzie called Treat Your Own Back and it's the "rescue position" for a bulging disc situation. The idea is that the disc is bulging out from between your vertebrae, so you're bending your body (gently) in the other direction, to move the disc back into place. Seek out this book if you can.

I'm so sorry you're hurting and that this is all happening on vacation! IANAD.
posted by purple_bird at 3:00 PM on July 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

This sounds like my back/disk/nerve experience to me as well. Where is the pain? (and don't expect the answer to be your back, mine hurt in the front of my knee and in the back of my hip among other places) A doctor can get you some stronger (non-narcotic) pain drugs - Gabapentin and NSAIDs. Also, ice (probably won't do anything but felt nice anyway). Also, lying on your back with your feet on a chair. Hope it passes quickly, but don't expect that it will.
posted by lab.beetle at 3:44 PM on July 2, 2018

At risk of telling you things you already know, and encouraging you to seek medical help:
1) State healthcare in Spain is free at point of use to people who live in the UK. Here's the England Department of Health guidance.
2) If you didn't bring an EHIC card, call [phone] from 8am BST (9am CST) tomorrow to ask for a Provisional Replacement Certificate section labelled Am I covered abroad even if I do not have my EHIC with me?.
It seems they'll be dicks, as you're not (IIRC) a UK national, but hopefully partner or other of his family members can shout at them for you and read them your visa details.

If anyone reading this speaks good Spanish or Catalan, hopefully they can give you details of where to go for healthcare.

Good luck. I hope the pain ends soon.
posted by ambrosen at 4:13 PM on July 2, 2018

In Menorca you don’t need to speak Spanish or menorquín in the hospital, so many HCPS deal daily with eng speaking patients,


You have prob pulled a muscle at least or a bulging disk at worst ( numbness suggests the latter) pain relief diclofenac instead of ibuprofen, plus paracetamol may help but you need an ortho consult once back in the UK. me mail me for more info.

Adding on edit HCP = health care professionals

The Catalan language has various very distinct dialects that some claim are languages in their own right so valencians, mallorquín, ; menorquín...etc

My OH is the pain specialist , he’d be happy to advise so memail and I’ll give you a mobile number. We both work for the NHS.
posted by Wilder at 4:30 PM on July 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

When I've slipped a disc, taking a double dose of fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin supplements at bedtime, silly as it sounds, fixed me up overnight. My wife threw her back out once as well and it worked for her, too.

I would ordinarily discuss this as coincidence, but both of us suffered for days before trying this and it worked immediately the night we took the supplements.
posted by kindall at 10:17 PM on July 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Are you experiencing any numbness/loss of feeling? If so, please head to a hospital immediately. If not, you'll still want to consider an MRI sooner rather than later. The MRI will let you know exactly what's going on and provide a clearer path toward treatment.

I do hope you get relief soon.
posted by WaspEnterprises at 12:32 AM on July 3, 2018

Mod note: From the OP:

Thanks for all the advice here, it really helped me sort out what to do next, is hard to think clearly when in pain!

I went to the clinic and then spent 10 hours in hospital with CAT scans and IVs. Apparently, I did some major tissue damage…thankfully no nerve damage or worse. They pumped me full of drugs and sent me back to the hotel with lots of prescriptions. I alternated between laying flat in the hotel bed and sun-chair for nearly a week, getting around by wheelchair. Didn’t get to do much, but read lots of books. Will have to go back for the caves, ocean and rum.

Getting that EHIC card is an absolute pain, but the information provided above truly helped.

posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:28 PM on July 11, 2018

we now know EBM that appropriate combo of paracetamol and ibuprofen is as good as morphine in acute pain


willpost the ebm shortly
posted by Wilder at 2:01 PM on July 11, 2018

Wilder's partner here - The Oxford analgesic league table (McQuay and others) as shown in this webpage from the Royal College of Anaesthetist's Faculty of Pain Medicine clearly demonstrates that 400mg of Ibuprofen + 1000mg of Paracetamol offer superior analgesia.

https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/faculty-of-pain-medicine/opioids-aware/oxford-league-table
posted by kairab at 2:05 PM on July 11, 2018 [1 favorite]