Should I see a doctor about this ?

Extreme said:

The problem with a lot of urgent care places, is that your intuition was right, and the doctors tend to be sub par at best.

Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth. Quick story, I went to one once when I was having pain in my neck/shoulder to the point it was limiting my movement and ability to turn my head, etc. I thought I had a pinched nerve or something. Anyway, my conversation went exactly like one of those bad jokes. Me: "Doc, it hurts when I move like this." Doc: "Well, then don't move like that."

Gee, thanks doc, now maybe you can tell me why and what to do to fix it?


BTW, I recommend adding that smiley above to those available

Yea this Doc was kind of clueless overall.

When I first told him that I had the symptoms since Saturday and it was now Thursday, he had to count on his fingers to determine it was 5 days. Which I thought was odd. Maybe it's the fact that I'm really good at math, or maybe he's poor at it, but I figured it right away - Saturday to Thursday is 2 days less than a week. So 7 days minus 2 equals 5.

Then I ask him "Is there anything I should NOT do that will make it worse (such as sitting on affected area), or anything that I CAN do, that will make it better (such as exercise to improve the circulation), and he had no answer.

Then I ask him, "Should I follow up with a doctor next week if it's not better"
His reply, "That's up to you".
Found it hard to believe that he could not make a recommendation for any continued treatment.

And this really shocked me. He writes no prescription for meds. Nothing for pain. And no anti-inflammatory meds.

Never goin back there again.

Oh, I just realized I did something the day before kayaking that may have triggered this.
The day before this started, I jumped off of a 40 foot cliff into the ocean.
But I landed wrong. When you jump that high, you're supposed to land on your feet, but I landed awkward on my back.
So, imagine jumping 40 feet into the water, and landing on your back. I immediately had back and neck pain, and have had it ever since.
So I'm wondering if I injured my back in a way that cut off circulation to my lower body, that was compounded by the kayaking posture the next day, and bringing on the symptoms in my feet and leg.

Here's the place I jumped from

Well now, that certainly changes things

I can say with that and your symptoms, you could have any range of issues. A likely place to start would be spinal compression, ruptured disk, or one of about half a dozen other possibilities. Now You really do need to see a specialist, but have an MRI on your lower back. I'd be willing to bet there might be something wrong

Yea, I remember hearing that one of the signs of a back injury such as ruptured disc or pinched nerve, is a tingling or numbness going down the leg.
Well, I guess that puts the puzzle in place, and gives me some better direction. Thanks for all the input.