I had this post up before JP somehow erased it, so I thought I would post something similar again.
So, you're injured. Or you've got a pain. And now you've come to this forum to get someone clever like Bill to tell you how to manage it. Or if you need to go to a doctor. And you want an answer, preferrably before next week.
Well, Bill's a busy busy man, so instead of posting something vague that is going to require at least 2 cycles of post-reply, why not just provide most of the information that he (or anyone else) is going to ask for? Hey, you can even cut and paste the nifty check list down below!
First off though, there are lots of things that can't be solved on this forum. So, if your injury involves any kind of deformity ("My shoulder looks squared off now"), significant sensory loss ("I can't feel my left hand"), significant motor loss ("I can't move my left leg from the knee down"), significant or excruitating pain ("It looks kinda red, but I can't even touch it without enormous pain") or trauma ("My knee bends in a way that knees should not bend") then stop reading here and just go to your doctor or emergency department (preferrably your doctor, if you're stable); because no matter how specific you are here, the answer is inevitably going to involve going to see a physician.
If you've made it this far and are determined to post, then I recommend cutting and pasting this checklist into your post and answering each question. If you're not sure what the anatomy is, then try something like
http://www.getbodysmart.com to describe it, or even take a picture of it.
1. When did the pain begin?
2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time?
3. Where, anatomically, is the pain?
4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting?
5. Is the pain constant, or intermittent, or only on certain motions?
6. What motions make your pain worse?
7. What, if anything, makes your pain better?
8. Does your pain radiate to any other part of your body?
9. What things could you do before, that you cannot do now because of your injury?
10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences?
11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how?
12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period?
Here's an example for say, I dunno, elbow pain.
1. I started noticing my elbow pain about a month ago.
2. It seemed to happen after bench pressing, but now I can feel it when I pick up a bag of groceries or my briefcase.
3. The pain is in my right elbow. If I look at getbodysmart, it looks like it's over the lateral epicondyle. Here's a picture:
4. The pain is mostly achy, but I get sharp twinges when I pick things up or when I use a screwdriver.
5. The pain used to be intermittent, but now I kinda feel it there most of the time and its worse when I use my right hand.
6. Anything that involves gripping makes my elbow hurt.
7. I've been taking advil for the pain that seems to be okay, but I don't like taking stuff for pain.
8. Sometimes, the pain kinda travels down my arm into my hand. It's not shooting, but just moves in that direction.
9. I can barely do dumbbell curls anymore. Lifting a heavy bag of groceries is right out.
10. I just want to get better. Could this be a nerve injury?
11. I don't think I've injured my elbow before, but if I bang my elbow against something by accident, the pain is horrible!
12. It's not really getting any worse, but it sure isn't getting any better!