Rita, hi and welcome to KA.
What you describe sounds an awful lot like SI pain to me, and from the pain shooting down your legs, it also sounds like you've aggravated your sciatic nerve. Never fun.
Did the pain shoot down your legs from your butt? Do your sitbones (really, called the ischeal tuberosity) feel like they're going to poke a hole through the seat under you? Then, it's probably sciatic nerve involvement, which is a classic SI symptom. You're on a whole lot of anti-inflammatory action, but it sounds like you need to ramp it up a bit. Try sitting on an ice pak of some kind. And try alternating it with heat to relax the muscles in the area. 15 minutes cold, 15 minutes heat. You'll know pretty darned quickly if the heat is going to help. At least, I usually do.
I find that sitting with my feet up and a pillow under my knees helps take the pressure off my lower back. If I have to stand for any length of time, I find that having a footrest for one of my feet helps take the pressure off.
Do deep breathing, relaxation breathing. This will help lower your stress level and will help deal with both the pain and the anxiety you're experiencing.
And as little as you want to, every so often, get up and walk. This will help keep the area from stiffening.
By my count, it's been ten days since you did this, so you need to get the pain and inflammation under control pretty darned quickly. I've never had a Cortisone injection, but many here have. I know it's helped a ton of people. You might talk to the new dr. about a new NSAID, as from your condition, the Voltarin doesn't seem to be helping.
You should be stretching and doing range of motion exercises every day. Don't stretch your lower back until this flare is under control, but relaxation exercises and walking should take care of that right now.
You cry all you need to with us. You aren't alone anymore.
There are all kinds of things you can do to help yourself, some will suit you more than others. You'll figure out what works on the Spondy Monster through trial and error. This place is great for learning what your options are and learning to assess them to see if they are right for you.
Warm hugs,
