lower back and side buttock pain

by Barbara
(Eastbourne uk)

I have lower back pain only when I stand too long; it is a nasty dull ache that sometimes burns and which radiates to the side of my right buttock and then down to the thigh of my right leg; the dull ache does not go below the knee.


This does not bother me when I am sitting or in bed only standing as in cooking or shopping.

It is annoying and debilitating.

I am my husbands carer; he is wheelchair bound and so I have a lot of heavy work which does not help the situation.

Hello Barbara,
I'm sorry to hear of your situation; I suppose we all bear a cross of one sort or another, but yours is difficult. I'm sure you'd be pleased if the boot was on the other foot.

Pain only when standing, or walking slowly, is a sure sign of a short leg.

Ask a friend to stand behind you, and place their hands on the iliac crests (google it) and compare sides. It's impossible to eyeball it if it's less than say 3mm, but more than that is quite often easy to see.
Then if you bend forwards, the curve in your spine will be all too apparent.

All that's needed is a lift in your shoe. The difficult part is how much, and whether it should be just under the heel, or the whole shoe.

I hope this contributes.

By the way, are you doing any lower back exercises? If not start those in the navigation bar at chiropractic help; they take less than two minutes.

Done every day they'll make a big difference.

Dr B

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