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Neurology (Expert Forum)
how to treat bulging disc in 16 year old boy
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how to treat bulging disc in 16 year old boy
by vixtir, Sep 22, 2004 12:00AM
My son suffered a football injury to his back on 9/3/04, original dx was lower back strain, 10 days later after being cleared for football, he was hurt again, which an MRI was then ordered.
MRI shows mild posterior protrusion of the L5-S1 intervertebral disk which efface the ventral epidural fat slightly. I have heard that bulging disks never go away, is that true? He has started Physical Therapy 2 times a week, at his first session the therapist said his hamstrings were very tight (35 out of 70 scale range) and that isn't helping his back injury. She said the prognosis is very slow and he can't take direct trauma to his back ever.
All he wants to do is play football, (he is fullback position) we havent been told officially yet, but will he ever be able to play or would a brace during football help for those crushing blows he has been taking.
We will be working with back strenghting exercises, etc....but will they ever receed, or is he looking at a life of back pain. I have been told by several people, that bulging disks at his age is VERY uncommon. Please help, Vixtir
MRI shows mild posterior protrusion of the L5-S1 intervertebral disk which efface the ventral epidural fat slightly. I have heard that bulging disks never go away, is that true? He has started Physical Therapy 2 times a week, at his first session the therapist said his hamstrings were very tight (35 out of 70 scale range) and that isn't helping his back injury. She said the prognosis is very slow and he can't take direct trauma to his back ever.
All he wants to do is play football, (he is fullback position) we havent been told officially yet, but will he ever be able to play or would a brace during football help for those crushing blows he has been taking.
We will be working with back strenghting exercises, etc....but will they ever receed, or is he looking at a life of back pain. I have been told by several people, that bulging disks at his age is VERY uncommon. Please help, Vixtir
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS, Sep 28, 2004 12:00AM
Discs bulges can decrease in size over time, and for this reason conservative therapy with anti-inflammatories and physical therapy is recommended first. It is uncommon for children to have disc problems, but is not unheard of. Regarding his ability to play football, without evaluating him and reviewing his scans I cannot make this determination. I would recommend obtaining a consultation with a sport medicine doctor, who should have more experience with this. If you are in the area we have a wonderful sports medicine department. Good luck
The first thing we tried was physical therapy. They gave me an oral dosepak of oral steriods about 2 weeks before... then I met with them 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Like your son, my hamstrings were extremely tight. Unfortunetly, physical therapy only made my pain worse. Instead of most of my nerve pain being in my left leg, it now fluctuated from my left leg to my right leg depending on how I was standing or laying down.
After physical therapy left me in more pain, we tried epidoral steriods. These steriods are injected straight into the spine where the herniation is. The idea is that the steriod, in such close proximity, will ease the inflamation of the disks... giving nerves a relief from pressure.
I've had 2 of these... the first one worked for about 3 months. I wasn't pain free.. but I was able to do normal exercises to try and build muscle tone in my back. The second one only lasted about 1 month.
My father is a Chiropractor. He told me the chances were good that my disks would cure themselves. You should have your son really work at the exercises they give him at physical therapy... he should do them at least 3 times a day. Have him ask about possible traction excercises. You might want to talk to your doctor about epidoral steriods, they gave me a lot more relief than the oral dosepak.
I ended up changing spine specailists due to a scheduling conflict. My current doctor gave me the option of one more epidoral, or surgery. I opted for the surgical procedure since I had lived a year with pain. I had the lumbar laminectomy/microdiscectomy 9/20/04. Upon waking up... I had no more pain in my legs. I feel 110% better and look foward to building up my lost muscle mass.
From what I understand, the condition is beatable. I am sure your son will do fine. God bless :)
He was more concerned about that, than the bulging disks. He said that bulging disks are common, no matter what age?? He is continuing w/therapy and the pain is getting better, except when he sits in school for hours at a time on those hard chairs.
My friend has recommended a chiropractor as he says that's what he needs for the bulge and lumbopelvic problem. Apparently the lumbo pelvic can be adjusted back into place??
I have stressed how important the excersices are, especially for the hamstrings, and he does them everyday, but not the recommended 3 to 6 times a day.
MD has not recommended any type of oral or injectable steriods, only anti inflamatories. Going tomorrow for recheck, we see what he has to say them.
Thanks for your suggestions. Vicki
As for the chiropractor... my dad used traction exercises with me. That's just basically trying to spread the spine apart to manipulate the disk back into place. It did bring relief right after being adjusted, but would go back to "normal" after sleeping on it.
The lumbopelvic dysfunction might be due to the disk herniations themselves. I know after my herniated disks, I would lean to one side to try and minimize the pain in my legs. My spine was like a question mark, and my doctor told me the disks might have been caused by my poor posture and one leg being shorter than the other. (I've always had perfect posture, my father is a stickler about standing up/sitting down straight. And my legs are the same length. But, they hadn't seen me before the injury, so they couldn't know.)
I would definitely look into a Chiropractor. It's a possible way to releive his pain without drugs or surgery. I think it would be worth while in the long run, especially if it cures his pain.
I think the age factor is due to the fact that being so young, the disks should be able to settle back themselves. Also, as with any surgery there are risks. They cut off the bulging disks, and shaved some of the bone to make more room for the nerves, so further disk degeneration is a risk. They also told me that the same thing could start happening further up the spine, leading to future surgeries