Okay, so I’m only 16 years old but I have a recurring pain in my hip/lower back/leg that absolutely will not go away. When I stand, it will start as a dull ache in my hip, and gradually spreads down my leg to about my calves – only not the muscle – and my lower back, and get sharper after a short time. When I walk a very short distance (as short as from one class to another) I’d only take a few steps and it starts up. I can’t bend over, and lying on my stomach or back hurts, which makes sleeping uncomfortable. I also can’t stand up straight, which gets on my nerves the most.
I have experienced this two or three times before, but this time it’s at it’s worst.
Like I said, I’m only 16. I’m not active in any sports or overweight in the slightest (5′7″ and 120 lbs.)
I’ve had x-rays done, but they’re all normal, and my docs don’t seem inclined to really figure out what’s going on. They just told me that if it keeps up, I’ll have to have physical therapy, but I’m scared that if they don’t know exactly what it is it could just get worse.
So yeah. Any ideas?
#1 by RAVEN on March 1, 2010 - 3:26 pm
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There’s a likely reason your doctor is blowing you off – I’ll explain further below and how to change their attitudes. I’ve been in Pain Mgt. for many years, and have dealt with more bad doctors than good. There’s one particular reason they’d not take you seriously.
The pain you’re describing is consistent with nerve pressure at the L3 / L4 disk. The nerve path is easily traceable; it starts in the back just below the midpoint, goes down the side of the spine, across the waist and hip, across the thigh, and stops at the knee on the inside of the leg. If the pain goes down the back of your legs, it’s indicative of nerve pressure further down, between the L4 and S1 vertebrae. The fact you said you’ve experienced several times previously indicates that you probably stressed a disk at some point when you first felt it, and it’s gotten worse over time.
If you went to your doctor complaining about the pain, and asked for pain medication as well, there’s a good chance the SOB labeled you a drug seeker and blew your pain off as fake. That’s the only reason someone would order an Xray for that kind of symptom and pain – plain films do not show disk problems that well. If you didn’t ask for any pain meds, then your doctor is an idiot. You need to see Neurosurgeon, not an Ortho or Neurologist. Neurosurgeons deal with this every day, and while you don’t need surgery, they at least are able to accurately diagnose you with an office visit.
Disk pressure on a nerve in the lumbar area is unmistakable for those of use who have experienced it for many years. It feels like a large gage needle or steel shank is being shoved into your back, and the pain that traces the nerve path can be burning, tingling, numb, and sharp as well.
What happens is that when the nerve is compressed or irritated by a disk or something else, it radiates pain in the surrounding tissue. In the back, that manifests in the form of muscle spasms, which are sharp pains that are very painful and uncomfortable. Your description tells me you’re having them as well. Anyway, when muscle spasms occur, the surrounding area (including the nerve area) tightens up as a result. Well, the increased tightness on the nerve causes it to get more irritated, causing more spasms – which repeats the cycle over and over. This is why any treatment for the problem includes not only an anti-inflammatory drug like Naprosyn (same stuff that’s in Aleve), and a muscle relaxer like Flexeril. The combination breaks the cycle and lets the area heal properly. If the problem is really bad, the standard treatment is a nerve block (a steroid injection) to reduce the inflammation more rapidly.
If you have back problems in your family like I have, some problems are hereditary and can be passed down. Some people have it and don’t know because they never aggravate it enough to cause any problems. My first indication of any problem was at the end of my Junior year. It prevented me from playing football my Senior year.
My point is that your age makes no difference, but family history can. And just bending wrong, sneezing, anything can trigger a disk problem when you least expect it. Even if you’ve been in an auto accident and didn’t have any apparent injuries, disk problems commonly appear a few years later. My own mother is experiencing disk problems now from a bus accident she was involved in several years ago.
X-rays will not show a disk problem, especially if the area is inflamed. You need an MRI or CT to show any real problems with a disk. If the pain has been consistent or intermittent for more than a week or two, that’s the likely cause, especially if the nerve pain you’re feeling is like I described and you can trace one of the nerve paths. You can literally trace the path with your finger or a pen if the pain is sharp enough and the nerve is being irritated. You really need to get a good set of pictures to determine the underlying cause. Disks don’t just bulge or completely herniate for no reason.
There are things you can do to help yourself get the inflammation down:
Don’t sleep on your stomach or back – both positions put more stress on the lower spine, making it worse. Your best position is in a fetal position on your side, with a cushion large enough to put between your knees that will separate your legs enough to where they are parallel to each other. The cushion relieves pressure on the hips and the lumbar area. I’ve had to sleep that way for many years. If you must lie on your back, you can do it, but only if you have a large cushion under your legs that raises them enough so that there’s no pressure on your lower spine. The cushion should go under your knees.
You can also use another position – get yourself a pillow and blanket, and head for your living room. Clear out the area in front of your couch,
then lie down on your back in front of it, with the back of your legs against the front of the couch, and your legs lying on the couch itse
#2 by gnet_162 on March 1, 2010 - 6:33 pm
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As you grow, muscles move slightly and grow with your body, along with taking more shape and definition while toning and building. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve of the hip/lower back/buttock and is susceptible to becoming caught or pinched in places, especially muscles. Sciatica is the known medical condition resulting from this. You may google Sciatica to learn more.
#3 by Hannah on March 1, 2010 - 7:46 pm
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It could be Sciatica? I friend of mine has bad pains in her hip, bum and back of her leg and thats what causes that…
#4 by Chloe on March 1, 2010 - 9:26 pm
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i’m not sure what it is exactly you have, but my advice: be your own advocate. as much as doctors are professionals and are usually concise and correct in their diagnosis, they are human, and they do make mistakes too. if your gut says that you feel like something more serious is going on, then press your doctors to do more tests, even if they don’t want to. you deserve the security of knowing if it isn’t something serious (and if it is, that you can start treatment immediately)
good luck my friend, and i’ll pray for you tonight!