21st August 2020

You are an F2 in a GP surgery. A 39-year old woman presents with back pain

You are an F2 in a GP surgery. A 39-year old woman presents with back pain that came on suddenly at work 2 days ago. She works as a HCA and was helping to turn a patient when she suddenly experienced the pain, which is present in her lower back and shoots down her right leg to her calf. She has had the past two days off work to rest, but the pain is not getting better, and she has been unable to get out of bed. She has tried paracetamol twice a day with the occasional ibuprofen, but it has been ineffective in controlling her pain. On examination, there is limited flexion, extension and lateral flexion of her spine. You decide that she has suffered a lumbar disc prolapse and give her some physiotherapy exercises to try and prescribe some analgesia to help her become more mobile. Which is the most appropriate analgesia to prescribe?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.