Bulging disc at 16 years old??

Not necessarily.

I'm not a specialist for treatment of back injuries, yet I will presume his ailment is hereditary (vs overuse or injury.)

Some thoughts for you:

1. Highly recommend a 2nd opinion.

2. Suggest a MRI (and then someone w/ experience
to read it correctly).

3. May be able to play ball thru the minor discomfort as the swelling reduces (yet
could be more a function of pain tolerance, than back injury.)

4. Consult with an excellent rehab therapist.

Prayers.

Regards
Bear

A bulge by itself really doesn't mean much. It's probably not pressing on the cord or a nerve root or the doctor would be recommending surgery. Sounds like your doctor is on the right track, but if you want a little extra peace of mind Bear's suggestions are very reasonable.

We did do an MRI and have a meeting today with the doc. It could be hereditary , (if so I can blame his mother for that one) but he was in a gym all winter with a trainer and also took a high school weight class that in hindsight, I wouldn't have done.
Thanks for the advice, will update.
D

Dog-
I'm a tennis player and had 2 bulging disks in the neck (don't remember what level)and it made my arm numb and had bad neck pain. Surgery is the last option. I got a shot of cortizone in the neck (the physicians can place it exactly where needed now by watching their actions on an x-ray type monitor)to take away much of the pain. This allowed me to do two months of physical therapy and neck exercises. I was allowed to continue to play sports as long as I felt comfortable. Good news is that, with therapy exercises, for me, the bulging disks quit hitting on the nerves. No pain since. Playing sports and working out and lifting weights just fine for three years now.

Best of luck to your son!!!

Bad news/good news........ after the MRI the doctor I was seeing mentioned 3 bulging discs and one had a small tear in the collar of one. He suggested 6 months down time, exercise to build up back and ab muscles. ....................lucky enough to get in to rehab with the head PT for the AZ Diamondbacks. After one look at the mri's, and observing Chris run, walk, jump, stand on one foot, he mentioned that bulging discs are not necesarily a problem and 60% of all athelete have them to some degree. Just the nature of the game. He said a bigger problem was Chris' right leg was 1/4 " shorter then the left and his arches were terrible. Hip flexor exercises may help the leg, otherwise a small lift and custom orthodics (sp?) to help the arch (worn by just about every Diamondback) should solve the whole problem. Said back and ab muscles were well developed from his fall/winter workouts in the gym, but needed more muscle in the legs and butt to help take the strain off the back. He should be back for summer ball and we are pretty happy about it.

Thanks for all the advice and good luck to everyone as the season winds down.