Lower Back Pain

At 12, son twisted a knee coming in to home plate...turns out he twisted his back & hip, too. Severe pain & unable to walk or move. The emergency room Doctors said it was a muscle strain...vicadin & rest "a few days"...
I instinctively knew something else was going on...took him to a chiropractor, whose evaluation was a pinched nerve...immediate relief from pain with heat & ultrasonic massage, then "spinal manipulations". He had to go 5 times a week for 2 weeks, then over the course of the next 2 months, was eased off till he was back to normal...
He does stretching exercises & visits the chiropractor a couple times a year.
I don't understand how that particular form of medicine works, but he feels the "alignments" keep him from tightening up. If he feels that "twinge of a catch" in his lower back or hip, he goes for an adjustment. Much of his issue, I think, also had to do with growth during the years between 12 & 17. He's in college & has been about a year since the last episode.
Don't know if your situation is similar, but thought I'd throw it out there...Maybe your son could benefit from a chiropractic visit.

NOT a dianosis -

we had an injury during hs diagnosed as "repetitive motion spondylolysis", which was essentially a lower spine stress fracure caused imbalanced muscle development from alot of hitting workouts, during a high growth period. it required rest, phys thereapy & a hard back brace for about 6-8 weeks.


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moissouri-dad,

I had the same thing last year, although on both sides of my back. All I had to do is take a pain killer, it was just a pain and it did not affect my performance. I hope your son is just as fortunate, and I hope he stays optimistic. I have always felt that the pyschology of an injured player is more important than the actual diagnosis.

My son had this exact same thing a year and a half ago. He is now a Junior. We went to the doctor, chiro., pain killers, etc. Nothing worked. In fact, he had this off and on for while before the major episode. Well, we took a little time off and then started lifting weights that targeted his lower back: dead lifts, squats, stiff legged dead lifts, good mornings, back extentions, and weighted inclined situps. It did wonders! Virtually gone. The only time it flares up is when he runs long distances - his HS coach has all his players trying to run a sub six min. mile right now and also running 3 miles 4 days a week. He has complained a few times lately but nothing major. BTW, we still do the workouts.

Thanks all,

I expect the doctor will take a back x-ray just to make sure it is not a slipped disk but should we ask for an MRI if the x-ray shows nothing? How about asking for a sports medicine specialist? Seems to me this may be necessary but I don't have confidence the doctors will automatically do an MRI.

I want to know for sure what is causing this so we can take care of it now and not have it linger. Now is the time to deal with it since it is off-season. Son may lose a few weeks of workouts and batting practice but better now than in season.

Can you tell I'm skeptical of doctors?

quote:

Well, we took a little time off and then started lifting weights that targeted his lower back: dead lifts, squats, stiff legged dead lifts, good mornings, back extentions, and weighted inclined situps. It did wonders!

Parents and players do not understand the amount of torque that is placed on the body. Imagine if you just did bicep curls for your right arm. It would be stronger and bigger than your left. Same as baseball. Your athlete needs to have good core strength due to the amount of swings in practice, warm-ups, throwing which is the exact same rotational move as hitting.

See where I am going. Check with the doctor for major problems, if everything is good get with a qualified individual that has some baseball experience that can help with conditioning the core.

BB-Dad

My son had the same problem last year, son is a 09 pitcher.Look under Banditsbb post on Feb. 7 2006. Family doc. did us no good, actually made it worse. Everyone kept telling us it was growing pains, but it just kept getting worse. Son did stretching exercises that our family doctor recommended and that made it worse. After a few months went to a specialist who did a mri and a ct-scan. The scan showed a stress fracture in the left pedicle of the L-5 disc. Son was given rehab for three months. We found out that this injury is very common among baseball players, and is caused by repetitive stress on the spine. Unfortunately it caused my son to miss his freshman year in baseball, but has now fully recovered. The rehab trainers stress that you have to build a strong lower core to take the stress off of your spine. Not saying this is your sons problem but it sounds like the same thing my son went thru. If it turns out to be the same thing he should have plenty of time to rehab and be ready for baseball. Hope this helps and good luck.

Certainly push for the MRI. Get as much info as possible and then a plan can be put into action.

bandit
We started with our family doctor this afternoon. There must be a family doctor play book somewhere because our doctor essentially said the same thing yours did. No X-rays or anything, just a lot of poking and looking. I had to ask that she refer us to an orthopedic doc which she did. So, next stop is the ortho where I will insist that they refer us again so we can have an MRI done if the X-rays come up negative.

I'm not going to settle for poking and guessing. The longer we wait and hope, the more likely my son's junior season has a chance of being lost. He will be devastated if that happens.

Thanks again to all for the input.

What was the outcome here? My guess is it was spondylolysis. Fifty percent of young athletes that go to the doctor have this. Just curious as to how things are going.....

My 15 year old (he's a pitcher) had somewhat the same problem. Went to the Doctor and he scheduled an MRI and it did not show a thing. But what we found out was that his hamstrings were too tight. Went through the rehab an such and the problem has gone away. My son still does the exercises at home and the problem has not returned since. This was in the spring of 2006!

Yoga...For me the results were amazing, completley and utterly amazing.

Why take chances ??

I am not a player any longer but I have had back pain for a number of years, off and on,---went to the doctor yesterday with is because ALL OF A SUDDEN THE AREA TURNED BLACK AND BLUE-- no pain involved as he probed but he x-rayed--- found what may be a fracture or compression in the lower lumbar area---may be headed for a MRI/CAT Scan in a few days---but at least we have the finger on the pulse


Make sure you have a doc you can trust and talk to openly---don't guess as to what it may be