Should I still be in pain 5 months after a back injury?

[Jessmyers28]

I slipped and fell at work on my tailbone and lower back. I was sent to be seen by a pain doctor. He keeps saying nothing is wrong. It has been 5 months after this injury and still no relief and pain gets pretty intense. I've had the steroid injection and no relief. Ive also been on pain pills and same issue no relief. Should i go back to the doctor or go get a second opinion?

[specialmom]

How are you now?  I'd see a physical therapist. they can do wonders for working through an injury.  Strengthening the area, stretching and finding ways to relieve the pain.  

[rileyocool]

Been seeing one but not sure as my pain doesn’t seem to be improving saying that I have good days n bad if I lift something heavy I’m back to square one ….. ready deliberating & hard to get any professional help with covid -19 restrictions ….  

[Paxiled]

Yes, get a second opinion.  But injuries can be stubborn, and the treatment, meaning surgery, can be risky too.  Don't lose patience.  Keep trying.  As for physical therapy, mostly what they do is stop you from doing the thing that hurt you.  They try to strengthen the area above and below where it hurts.  But without a very specific diagnosis, physical therapists are not diagnosticians and are working in the blind.

[rileyocool]

If I were to say my pain generates from under my left scapula ( shoulder blade) to center / upper back what would you suggest the best scan  for that area ….

[Paxiled]

I'm not a radiologist.  I'm not a doctor.  But that area would most likely be muscle pain.  Doesn't mean it is, but man, I've been through the rounds with pain, and usually it's not structural, it's muscular or odd things that just don't show up on any diagnostic tests.  Usually, that's MRI territory, though, if that's what you want, as you're not looking at bone, you're looking at soft tissue.  But again, this is what orthopedic surgeons and rheumatologists etc. go to all that schooling for, and I didn't do that.  But all that schooling doesn't mean it's easy to diagnose or fix correctly.  But to me, this sounds muscular.

[Paxiled]

You mention you were sent to a pain doc.  Not sure why that would be your first doc, that should have been an orthopedic surgeon who would have had you get X-rays and MRI to see if anything is out of place, which you don't mention.  Pain docs are for when you get diagnosed with something that can't be fixed, and they are there to palliate the pain, not fix it.  

[Jessmyers28]

My job sent me to the pain doc and he ordered an x-ray and MRI. He said he couldn't see anything. But I think my job didn't want to pay for the injury.