I have had back pain ever since the summer high school season in June (I live in Iowa) and I am getting a cortisone shot Tuesday because the doctor said I had a sprained SI. joint in my pelvis. Question I am asking is do you have to rest for a period of time after the shot? I play fall baseball and that week we are going to Atlanta for a big tournament.
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I'm sure it varies. From what I've seen and experienced on the day of the shot and on the next day you'll not want to do much. On the third day you'll feel ready to go, so long as the underlying condition itself doesn't restrict you.
This goes back about 17 years, but from what I remember... I was sore as hell the first day. The second day I was sore, but no sharp pain. The third day no real soreness at all. I was past my playing days at that point, so I'm not sure if it is something I would have been able to play through. Probably by the second day if I wasn't a pitcher or catcher.
Of course a lot of this depends on where you get the shot exactly and how much initial inflammation there was. Back pain is really an individual thing, so you don't want to really take someone else's experience as gospel.
One thing I can suggest... If you don't already, you should look into yoga stretches for the lower back. A lot of lower back issues come from a lack of flexibility in the pelvis and hamstrings. A good stretching routine has done more to keep my back pain at bay than anything else I've tried.
My husband has had those shots in his elbow, his experience is that by the third day he was able to use the elbow again. Prior to the shot the muscle felt weak, he couldn't even pick up a gallon of milk without shaking his whole body. I would guesstimate that is the case for most of those shots.
Rob T has a VERY good point about the yoga. If you go onto amazon and look up baseball yoga there is a DVD for under $20 that has some great exercises specifically for baseball players.
You ve had issues since Spring and it's still not right? Have you been to a PT to work on things. Sometimes, as in my sons case, working on core can strengthen lower back. Back issues can take a long time to fix. What yr are u? Is it important to be seen this Fall for recruiting purposes?
Are you sure it's an SI joint issue. That's what the first doctor told us was causing my son's back pain. Four doctors and a chiropractor later it turned out to be a pars defect. I assume you've had an MRI/bone scan?
What position do u play. Is the cortisone shot just to get you through Fall Ball, then your going to shut down and just do PT? Does the PT know about the chiropractor? Are they working together on certain issues?
did you play on Summer Team or did back keep you from playing then?