Thread: 15 year old with slipped 4,5 and 6 discs and S1 nerve pinched

Hi,
I am a 15 year old girl who was quite fit and in shape before my injury. I was a rower for 2 years and by the end of the second year I experienced intense back pain after intense physical activities such as the rowing machine. I didn't really consider it anything major and just went to the Physio. My mum then noticed me trying to pick up a pencil of the floor and saw that it was not really normal for a young teenager to be struggling so much. Anyway, i had an MRI done and I have found that i have slipped my C4, 5 and 6 discs and have a pinching on my S1 nerve down my leg - which is very painful! I have been seeing a specialists for 4 weeks now, and they a√e tried numerous painkillers but none of them have made any significant difference, but the best results have been from Voltarin 3 times a day.

Four days ago I did a one hour flight to attend a christening and didnt experience any addtitional discomfort, however the morning after I was basically paralysed with the most intense pain and was pretty much just screaming and unable to hold myself up what i later discovered was a muscle spasm due to the pressure of the flight which irritated and inflamed the discs more. After that the doctors have been contemplating wether they will need to result in a chromosone injection, but are reluctant to do it on someone so young.

Right now I have been taking painkillers, trying to reactivate my core, doing my stretches and have been walking around or perching to avoid sitting since it irritates my hamstring.

Basically, I want to know if anyone has been through this and knows what worked for them or something similar to help ease the pain or what they can suggest for me to do since I am still really struggling and I am out of ideas!

Thankyou

Keep seeing a doctor and if the one you see isn't helping you then change for someone else that might do better. The main thing is to see a doctor and do not try anything without their approval. Hope that you find relief and get better.

We don't like to give medical advice on the forum, and please take anything you read with a grain of salt.

As you discovered the muscle spasms are really nasty. These can sneak up on you because its normal to accumulate tension in back muscles without knowing it, especially over a busy day attending a christening where you're constantly focused on other things. Pain killers can also help you ignore further injury you might do to your back. So I hesitantly advise not to get too distracted from the useful pain message your body is sending you. Voltarin is anti-inflammatory, and that's good. There is an uncomfortable sort of dance one has to play with pain, that is on the verge of spasms, and you'll have to find the right balance yourself.

Relax! What works for me is a very hot long bath (with ice cream) to soften muscles, followed by hanging from a chin-up bar I have mounted quite high, just to stretch my back out.

I'm an old man, so our physiologies are a bit different... and so too for the source of our injuries.

For my back injury, (crazy pain kept me up at night, trying to find a position that hurt less)muscle relaxers, and nsaids as needed, (I avoid pain pills, and never use an entire prescription---so far) mostly a day or 2 before I take time to do stretching exercises.
6 month's later, and i ain't used up all the muscle relaxers--no pain medication aside from bushmills----I suspect the warm weather helps. I'm working a little every day with no pain.

do be careful
I've a cousin (man mountain, iron man, whose arms are as big around as my legs) who didn't let his back heal properly, and has had, and will have lifetime problems.
Heal first! Then exercise! Gently!
may the best of luck be yours.

NB: As with all anecdotal medical advice: YMMV.

When I had a pinched sciatic nerve, the doctors recommended pain-killers, anti-inflammatories and rest.
This did nothing to help.

It is the same advice they gave my mother - and she ended up being bed-ridden for over a year.

The solution that finally allowed my mother to walk again was being treated by a chiropractor.
And the same type of treatment fixed me also.

Although resting is good when treating back injuries, I would not recommend it being the only treatment.
And you can get a chiropractic consultation for free.

I would also go with the chiropractor route, they are not everyones cup of tea, but it helped me. I have also discovered a flotation tank, this is a fantastic way to relax your whole body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolation_tank

Hi Sarah, do you know how you hurt your back? If you were using improper form, you could just end up hurting yourself again so make sure you are doing things correctly, with proper alignment.

Also, and sorry if this is too personal, but did say you were rowing between the ages of 13 and 15? A change in your upper body measurements could have affected the way you need to carry your weight. I used to get pains in my back which I attributed to carrying heavy bags and then realised that I was wearing the wrong bra size.