Fracture of the sacrum--any experience?

[torinsmom]

I slipped and fell on my deck steps last Friday morning. I knew right away that I had either bruised my tailbone or fractured it. Went to the dr on Saturday and was told that it was probably fractured-rest and take prescribed pain meds. I tried to work but by Tuesday I was in terrible pain. I mean aching 24 hours a day with only minimal relief with pain meds. Pain in my hips, down my legs and weird pressure were on top of the pain in my rear. Finally, Thursday, I went for an x-ray. Yesterday, they called to say that my tailbone was fine, but there appeared to be a fracture of my sacrum. I need an MRI to fully diagnose and see the extent. Of course, everything is closed until Tuesday! UGH!

Has anyone had this type of fracture or know someone who has? I am worried from what I read on the internet. Seems like it is a lot more complicated than a tailbone fracture. At this point, I can walk and do normal stuff, although I am hurting constantly.

TIA,

Marsha

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. I hope you recover soon.

 

[RNMOM]

Marsha, the sacrum is the last five vertebrae fused together. The very last bit of the spinal cord is in there. I believe the treatment will depend on if the bones are in their natural positions or not.

You don't say what you are taking for pain but you might need to contact your doctor for something stronger to help with the pain. Try resting as much as you can and even ice to the area might help a little. Use a cloth to cover the ice pack and do a 20 min. on and 20 min. off cycle.

Do let your doctor know if you can't get comfortable.

 

[torinsmom]

They gave me hydrocodone, but I hate it because it makes me feel really weird, like skin crawly weird. I don't like narcotics at all, if I can help it. I'm taking 1000 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours. I am used to lots of ibuprofen because I have chronic headaches. The worst part is not being able to get comfortable. My left leg gets these shooting pains down it too and that is really irritating.

I just hate that the dr. wouldn't call in the MRI to the MRI clinic that is open on weekends. I know my insurance covers that place. They said I could go to the ER, but its not an emergency, and that co-pay is expensive.I want to know what's going on and what's going to happen next. I don't know how to explain to them how much this hurts and how Tuesday is a long time to wait for an answer.

Marsha

 

[JessicaR]

I had a fractured sacrum as well as the discs two levels higher (L4-L5). MRI and or CT Scan are the best place to start to see the extent of your damages. This in turn will provide you with an option or options in how best to treat you. Identifying the specific type of sacral injury will result in optimal treatment. Believe it or not certain stress fractures will resolve on their own with time. Pelvic damage (if any) will also be evaluated.

It is painful and what makes one person feel better can be totally different for others. Heat or ICE or both and absolutely REST!! Anti Inflammatory medications and maybe muscle relaxers as well as a good pain med can all be helpful in making you more comfortable. Remember you can always visit the ER if Tuesday seems too far away. Try not to let the worry creep in and assume the worst, it really could end up being nothing too bad.

I hope you are able to find some comfort and less pain quickly. Best of luck with this being a minimal injury! Feel better.


This info is pretty basic and explains things in layman terms that I hope may be helpful.
The Sacrum - Where the Spine Joins the Pelvis

The sacrum is the triangular bone just below the lumbar vertebrae. The sacrum has five segments fused together into one large bone.

This triangular bone fits between the two halves of the pelvis, connecting the spine to the lower half of the body.

Nerves that leave the spine in this area help control the bowels and bladder and provide sensation to the crotch area. The two dimples in most everyone's back are where the sacrum joints the hipbones (sacroiliac joint).

The point where the lower back joins the sacral region (the L5-S1 joint) can develop pain due to injury. This area receives a great deal of stress and twisting during activities, such as sports or sitting for long periods.


http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1396.html
http://orthopedics.about.com/od/brokenbones/g/sacral.htm

 

[JR6ooo4]

Fracture of the sacrum

isn't that a religous thing?


hope you feel better soon.

Mikeeee

 

[englishteacha]

Heal well! My family (I have 7 siblings) is all about breaking weird bones. Most families break arms or legs-we break feet, collar bones, fingers, toes, shoulders. No tailbones, yet, though we've had 2 close calls. (Turned out to be very badly bruised.) So we're sending hugs your way for healing!

 

[torinsmom]

Thanks for the advice! I am hoping I have the type that just heals on its own. Kind of hard for me to believe that with how much it hurts, though. It especially worries me that the pain has increased in the last week, even with 4 days of nearly complete rest. And I have a high tolerance for pain; had brain surgery and took ibuprofen for that pain instead of morphine. This pain is worse than what I had after brain surgery.


It will be really hard for me to completely rest for very long. I'm a single mom, as well as a teacher. If they make me take time off for it to heal, I will still need to get my son to and from school, which is 30 minutes away. Noone else at the school lives in our area.

Marsha

 

[MichelleVW]

They gave me hydrocodone, but I hate it because it makes me feel really weird, like skin crawly weird. I don't like narcotics at all, if I can help it. I'm taking 1000 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours. I am used to lots of ibuprofen because I have chronic headaches. The worst part is not being able to get comfortable. My left leg gets these shooting pains down it too and that is really irritating.



Marsha

Ew narcotics (and benadryl) make me feel skin crawly weird too...I hate it!! It's hard to explain to people exactly how it feels, but it's nasty!!


My mom cracked her sacrum this winter falling off one of her horses. They discovered it on the MRI when it was 2 weeks after the fall and still hurting. They didn't do anything else for her, except pain meds and rest. I don't think there's too much else they can do.

Have you tried Aleve instead of the Ibuprofen? Sometimes that helps me more than Ibuprofen.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[torinsmom]

Has anyone ever heard of sacroplasty? I was reading online that they can inject a special kind of concrete into a sacral fracture that stabilizes it to heal without the long recovery period and/or surgery. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but if the MRI shows a fracture, I may ask about it.

I am torn about going to the ER. On the one hand, I would get a quicker result. If I wait until Tuesday, I will have to go have the MRI, then my doctor MAY get the results by Wednesday. Then, if it is a fracture, I am assuming they will need to refer me to someone else, like an orthopedist, to figure out the best treatment. It could be over a week before I would have a definitive answer. If I go to the ER, I am assuming they would do the MRI and someone would read it immediately, and decide a course of action. So quicker result, but more $ out right away. Does anyone know if that $150 ER charge from insurance goes towards your deductible? That will make a difference, because I am already looking at paying a $500 deductible and then 20% coinsurance.

Marsha

 

[LindaG4458]

I fractured across my left sacroiliac joint in a car accident. The pain, although it did diminish, never completely went away. I ended up having a fusion of the left SI joint a little more than a year later. I'm about 90% better now, some 30 years later.

 

[goobygoo]

To Torinsmom:

Did you ever get help or satisfaction regarding your sacral fracture? I am quite frustrated right now.

Thank you!

 

[mebbradley]

To Torinsmom:

Did you ever get help or satisfaction regarding your sacral fracture? I am quite frustrated right now.

Thank you!

Holy Old Thread. This thread is almost 5 years old.

 

[kimblebee]

Holy Old Thread. This thread is almost 5 years old.

And it's their first post. You do the math

 

[torinsmom]

To Torinsmom:

Did you ever get help or satisfaction regarding your sacral fracture? I am quite frustrated right now.

Thank you!

Nothing helps but time really. It took quite a while for it to be comfortable to sit and it still hurts after long drives.

 

[TwoCortWort]

I slipped and fell on my deck steps last Friday morning. I knew right away that I had either bruised my tailbone or fractured it. Went to the dr on Saturday and was told that it was probably fractured-rest and take prescribed pain meds. I tried to work but by Tuesday I was in terrible pain. I mean aching 24 hours a day with only minimal relief with pain meds. Pain in my hips, down my legs and weird pressure were on top of the pain in my rear. Finally, Thursday, I went for an x-ray. Yesterday, they called to say that my tailbone was fine, but there appeared to be a fracture of my sacrum. I need an MRI to fully diagnose and see the extent. Of course, everything is closed until Tuesday! UGH!

Has anyone had this type of fracture or know someone who has? I am worried from what I read on the internet. Seems like it is a lot more complicated than a tailbone fracture. At this point, I can walk and do normal stuff, although I am hurting constantly.

TIA,

Marsha

No sacrum experience but I have broken my tailbone so I know that pain. It took mine upwards of 6 weeks before I could sit without pain. Mine has never been the same since either, can't sit long periods of time without pain.

 

[cabanafrau]

And it's their first post. You do the math

To me it seems like the result of a google search, probably from someone suffering quite a bit or someone who cares about someone who's suffering quite a bit. Where's the in trying to get some information about that?