Back Pain in 16 year old boy - nonunion of the right transverse process L1

[jenc1291]

My son has been complaining of lower back pain for over a year and recently we started taking him to Chiropractor to see if it would help.  He is active 6'1" 200lb boy that does Football and Basketball in High School along with lifting during off seasons.  No injurys that we know of and other than this pain, he has no medical problems.  
Weeks of the Chiropractor has not resulted in any improvement so he had him do an X-Ray to explain continued pain.  He feels it has actually gotten worse and hurts mostly when sitting or getting up from seated position.
X-Ray impression:  Stable minimally-displaced nonunion of the right transverse process of L1, this could relate to old injury or be congenital.
Can anyone give me advice on treatments or how we should procede.  He is concerned of course about not being able to play Sports, but the Chiropractor suggested that his family Dr. should or MRI to further see what is happening and worse case surgery.  His father had similiar problems with his back in his 20's after years of back pain, so this might explain congenital part of the problem

[lilly434]

Hello,

Sorry about your son's pain.  Having back pain myself (herniated disc) it is not fun at all.  I wantedti reply to your post because I noticed your son's age and I saw the word surgery in your post.  Depending on what the MRI results come back with I would recommend opting out of surgery at all costs.  Please take some time to search this site and see how badly people suffer for years after surgery.  Some doctors make it seem like it's no big deal when really it is huge deal.  

I work at one of the best hospitas in the U.S. and just saw my back surgeon yesterday and he told me if he does surgery, my back will hurt for the rest of my life.  If I leave it alone and let my body heal I might not be as bad off.  I am glad I have a doctor who is at least willing to tell me the truth, not docs would say that, just read this forum and you'll see.

I wish you luck.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of his symptoms. Possibilities that may need to be considered include postural issues, spinal structural defects, neuro-muscular causes, injuries, inflammations, degenerations, nutrient/ micronutrient deficiencies etc. Stable minimally-displaced nonunion of the right transverse process of L1 is unlikely to be the cause of his pain and would not require treatment. I would suggest getting this evaluated by an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!