Fall

[bBarnabus]

I fell on the stairs a week ago and landed on my left buttock. the pain is debilitating. It is the same place as I have previously had polymialgia pain. Paracetemol has no effect. Can this be polymialgia playing up as a consequence off the fall? Should I increase my steroid dose? If I had damaged a muscle I would have thought I would start to see some pain alleviation by now. Is it common for a fall to set off a flare?

[SheffieldJane]

Yes I would say so. I would try a couple of mgs extra to head off a full blown flare, hopefully that will suffice. I have had to increase by 5 mgs in the past though and returned straight back down to my original dose as long as it was within a fortnight. Good luck!

[SnazzyD]

Ouch! That’s making me clench mine! Can you give a bit more detail about your pain? For example, where it is, whether it travels, what kind of pain, what helps, what doesn’t, does it throb? Anything to see? A week is not long at all for a soft tissue injury but other problems may have arisen that need to be ruled out before just bumping up the Pred. Ideally you need someone qualified who can check the cause of the pain ,for example whether you’ve cracked a bone, crushed a nerve, shifted something, got a bit of a haematoma, the list goes on.

[bBarnabus in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks snazzyDits a sickening dull pain. I can't sit on it long. It increases if I walk. It refers a bit into my leg and the left side of my back. It is accompanied by by lesser discomfort in the right hand buttock area and shoulders. No throb. No visible signs. I helps to lay down but not on that side

that side. It feels like normal polymialgic pain

[SnazzyD in reply to bBarnabus]

Might be worth trying to get an x-ray just to make sure and a proper exam.

[bBarnabus in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks will do

[cranberryt in reply to bBarnabus]

Falls can cause all kinds of issues including sciatica which refers down the leg and up the back. Get it checked out. It is probably from the fall and may need PT or other treatment.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

A fall can be enough to trigger a flare but a fall also tends to exaccerbate myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). What you are describing could be piriformis syndrome - often part of MPS. Your description really does sound like greater trochanteric pain syndrome - which includes the other bits although they can exist in their own right

yourphysio.org.uk/condition...

physio-pedia.com/Greater_Tr...