Daughters bad back

[mit Whome]

I am a new member and this is my first post. I have read a lot of the posts and have already got a better understanding of peoples problems.

My daughter, 17yrs old,hurt her back four months ago and has spent all of the summer laid up at home unable to do the normal things that a 17yr old should do. rachel missed four GCSE's and has just had a major relapse and has missed two days at college as she is unable to sit down for more than five minutes.

By using my private medical insurance Rachel had an MRI scan in July but we still have not had a second consultation with the specialist yet, only a telephone update. What we do know is that there is a problem in the L5/S1 area that results in major pain in the lower back and right leg.

The consultant said over the telephone that he may can offer an epidural but no surgery. Isthis the way to go but from what I have read an epidural provides limited relief or none at all. Also, I have found the 'Spinal Foundation' on the web. They offer minimally invasive surgery using a laser. Has anyone had experience of this as we are really desparate.

Thanks

 

[Maria G]

hi bluehagon,
i am sorry your daughter is in so much discomfort, I would reccomend you see either an osteopath or therapist who has experience in dealing with lumbar discomfort, from a sports therapist point of view( based on limited info given) I would be looking for movement patterns that have been compromised and trying to restore normal movement, possibly then working on strengthening core area whilst improving posture.
best regards
Gaz

 

[honeydipn]

Thanks for the reply. Rachel has been receiving treatment from a Physiotherapist for the last 12 weeks to try and provide exactly the therapy you mention. Also, she has been given accupuncture at these sessions but really to no avail. Neither of these conservative treatments have worked. Rachel is also using a Tens machine which is having little or no effect.

The session this week was with a different Physio due to holidays and the next day Rachel went from being a 4 on a scale of 1 (no pain) to 10 (agony) right back up to an 8. She has been unable to sit down since and has to eat meals stood up and probably will miss college for the next few days at least. This is not the best start to your A levels and especially when she will have exams at Xmas.

We are led to believe that 10 - 15% of sufferers do not get better after 8 - 10 weeks. This definitely seems to apply to Rachel and is why we are considering going through with an epidural. This may provide enough relief so that Rachel can get back to college.

The Spinal Foundation in Congleton offers ELF (laser) therapy to remove the disc protusion and seems to have really good feedback from patients. Does any one know about this? We just want her well and back to normal.

 

[unumeMuck]

Hi again,

i would recommend a change of treatment provider . I for example review my treatments after each 4 sessions to see if I have been effective, I would then consider either an alternative treatment or refer to another practitiioner.
Try an osteopath for a different approach.
Gaz

 

[zookiee22]

Your daughters problem is very similar to mine. i have a prolapsed paracentral L5/S1 disc problem

It came on gradually and i ignored to start of with.

Been very bad for 5 weeks now but 1 week into my sports physios clinic i am told it IS getting better...cant notice any diffence myself...

As previous writer states maybe look at changing the treatment source if they are saying she should not need an operation.

At the physios session today i spoke to a physio that had also had an operation to correct the same problem his comments were avoid operation if possible.
What the confusing thing is top sportsmen/women tend to have the operation without question!!!

Keep us informed of the progress

 

[wtklwfll]

these top athletes have access to the best surgery,physio and aftercare, unfortunately we dont have that luxury. If I was giving advice on this subject I would encourage all non invasive treatments first followed by the least invasive etc etc.
I an having a shoulder replacement(surface humerus) next month after 7 previous operations, I now do my own rehabilitation after years of hospital physios not caring about my or anyone elses condition, in fact I changed careers because I know i can make a difference, you will need to find someone who cares about your condition first and doesnt just see ££££ signs.
Best regards
Gaz

 

[plereeWeede]

We went to see the specialist tonight and have received what could be good news. The spinal surgeon went through the MRI images with us and discussed the reasons for the severe pain that Rachel is suffering from.

The surgeon indicated that there is no prolapse particularly evident but remarked that the MRI scan was taken lying down. This means that the spine is not being compressed and as a result the MRI does not necessarily give a true picture. However, the surgeon was happy that there was no need for any surgery and offered an epidural. We discussed the risks and benefits of he injection and he agreed that it may or may not work.

The decision to have the injection is down to Rachel but she probably won't have it. This point of view is backed up by the surgeon admitting that a number of patients have got better whilst waiting for surgery. So I think that Rachel will stop going to college and take the rest of this year to get better with little or no pressure from worrying about missing college. The epidural could be taken later next year if the pain remains a big problem.

Following information from your replies and reading other posts Rachel has had her first consultation with an Osteopath and we will see how that goes. I agree with one reply that she needs to find a therapy that helps and then go with that for a while. The physiotherapy sessions may come to an endas they have had a limited effect after 12 weeks. If the osteopathy does notwork then we will look at something else possibly the Bowen technique or even hypnotherapy.

We have considered having a second opinion from the surgeon at the Spinal Foundation but willonly use that option if things get desparate. However, we are led to believe that there was an article recently in the Daily Mail about the Spinal foundation and are very busy as a result. Perhaps laser surgery is the way to go for some people.

We will keep reviewing these pages to see how people are going and to see if some one has come up with a magic bullet for this issue. All three of us are hopeful that she will be better in time for starting college again next year.

 

[Go Out with Your Fro Out]

Sorry to hear of your daughters problems, the pain sounds exactly like what i had, a pain when you sit down and a pain down the right leg. I suffered a prolapsed disc back in late january, which developed into a slipped disc in late march and i am still recovering from this, but have got back to a mild prolapsed stage. I have seen two chiropractors and two different physios throughout it all, and have just cancelled the last two of them. The chiro in particular seemed to help tremendously for the first two sessions, but after the last one (5th app) i was caused severe pain which took me almost two weeks to shift. I did find one thing that helped me along which i had back in may was a session of traction. I know a lot frown at this and don't offer it anymore, but it did help me. I have only really been given one exercise from the physio, that was referred to as 'the slide' where you push your hip towards the wall away from the painful area, this again, i found utterly useless as it was demonstrated to me and have 'modified' it to suit myself and as a result have made more progress in the past 10 days than i had with either the physio or chiro in 9 weeks of treatments. It has taught me that throwing money at specialists isnt always the answer, there is usually a lot of things you can do to help yourself, such as plenty of walking (as painful as it may be, it has always helped), sitting in a correct posture (which i achieve by sticking a small cushion behind my middle-back area to arch the back forwards). One other position i found very useful and always seemed to relieve the pain was kneeling down with your thighs and upper body all vertical so all the weight is transferred down onto the knees; with the pelvis pushed slightly forward this seemed to give some relief to the buttock pain. Hope some of this may help, i've tried loads of things over the past 9 months, but time is a factor that can't be rushed! But I would be vary wary about doing all the exercises precribed by phyio's and chiro's and do what feels like it is actually benefitting you, and not what they say you should be doing, as i have found they can be painfully wrong!. Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery

 

[archnew2]

Can someone please enlighten me as to where I can find the Daily Mail article on the Spinal Foundation? I have obviously searched their site without luck.

Cheers flatjack

 

[~Dumb Blonde~]

Hi there! I find it interesting that you are taking your girl out of college...I believe you might be over-reacting and giving in too early here.

Does she have to be at school in order to be allowed to take the exams? If not, then she should be reading at home, and demand as much help as possible when it's time for the exams (for example more time available to complete the exam, perform it in a seperate room/a room with people with similar problems, specific adjustable chairs/tables and so on).

It won't help her just hanging around at home for 1 year (or possible 10), waiting for a disc to dry in.

This post may sound harsh, but it is important to keep progress in life while waiting for the disc to eventually dry in. This may take longer time then one might expect...[X(]

 

[Kazie]

With reference to the over reaction re college. As she was only able to attend her first year for 6 days how do you suppose she was going to be able to sit exams-teach herself? The pain was so bad that she was unable to even concentrate on looking at a book never mind try to teach herself 4 subjects to A-level standard! The decision was not taken lightly & now 4 months down the line it has to be said was the correct one to make. Her aim is to return in September hopefully fully recovered.

Things have improved significantly since our visit to a pain management consultant at the beginning of December. Whilst we were sceptical to say the least when he prescribed an anti-depressant (amitryptilene) it is a very low dose usedto treatchronic nerve pain caused by muscle spasm which he thought could be part of the problem. Whilst Rachel still has pain she can at least now sleep & has managed to reduce her medication to just paracetamol & has got her life back to some degree. She can sit for longer periods of time & to our great relief we hear her laugh which was something we thought would never happen again!

We re-visited the pain consultant again yesterday & he was happy with her progress. We hope now to gradually improve her fitness to enable her to regain her strength after virtually 6 months off her feet. She is currently undertaking lessons in the Alexander Technique which seem to be helping & has volunteered for 1 morning a week to help out at her old primary school to try to help re-build her confidence & give her something to occupy her mind. She's hoping that if she can get herself strong enough in the next 6 weeks or so she may be able to look for a job to occupy her through the summer until she can start her studies again in September.[sm=1syellow1.gif]