17 y/o with chronic back pain

Hi everyone. I've suffered from chronic back pain for years now and I'm only 17. When I was 8 years old I threw out my back and was unable to move for hours. I recently found out I have scoliosis in my thoracic and lumbar ( S curve ) but it's only 5 degrees in the thoracic and only 3 in the lumbar. Most doctors don't even consider that to be scoliosis since the curve is so minor. I just dont understand how the curve can be so minor but cause me so much pain. My back hurts every moment of every day and occasionally gets extremely worse. Is anyone else like this? or know anyone like this? I'm going to go back to my doctor. But it would be nice to hear everyone's ideas on why I'm like this and what could give me pain relief. Thank you.

Hi musiclover, I feel so bad for you to have such bad pain at such a young age. Try to relax that usually helps and try heat and ice therapy that will help if there is any inflammation.

Hi Musiclover08,
I too have mild scoliosis that causes considerable pain. I must say, though, that 3 degrees and 5 degrees is VERY slight. My guess is that 80% of the population have similar slight curves (That's a guess -- I could be wrong).
In my case, the curve is about 20 degrees, from C4-T4. I didn't have any pain from it until I was about 40, though -- and didn't even remember I had it. My vertebrae is at the same level as and just below the clavicle are rotated, with a compensating curve in my cervical spine.

If you haven't had an MRI of the area, I think it should be discussed with your doctor. A few degrees in that area may not be the cause. You might have a herniated disk, or something else entirely.

Hi musiclover, i wanted to welcome you to the cp forum. Glad you found us but so sorry you are having so much back pain at such a young age.
I agree, the degree of your scoliosis is very very slight and normally nothing would be done but to keep an eye on it for progression. Have you seen an orthopedic specialist for children? have you had xrays done recently or mri? I would suggest seeing the specialist if you haven't already. I have experience with children and scoliosis as i am a nurse and have looked after several children who have had the surgery for scoliosis repair. Let us know just a big more info on what you have done so far. Try some tylenol or advil for the pain, ice, heat.

I hope you will come back and let us know how you are doing and if you have any followup appt with doctors.

Take care
Suzane

Thank you everyone for being so kind and supportive. I really hope all of you find relief from your pain.
I had been checked a few times for scoliosis when I was younger and I was always told I didn't have it. Then I had an X-ray to see if they could find what my pain was caused from and that's how they discovered the scoliosis. But now after thinking about it for awhile now, and seeing your responses I'm thinking the scoliosis probably isn't the cause (or the entire cause) of my pain. Do any of you have any other suggestions on what could cause it? Or what tests I should have done? Or questions I should bring up to my doctor? As I said earlier I'm very young and I would be seeing my doctor without a parent, so I just want to be prepared with questions and ideas when I have an appointment.
Again, thank you everyone so much.

Hi Musiclover,

There are various other imaging tests, such as MRIs and CT scans. Which would be best likely will depend upon your doctor's suspicions about the cause of the pain.

As a general caution, if you can get relief from something less powerful than an opioid, you should delay taking any opioids for as long as you can. Tolerance can build very swiftly, and so they can become ineffective within a few years (sometimes just months). So, given your age, with 60-70 years left of life, you should explore other courses of treatment.

Depending upon what your doctor says, physical therapy or chiropracty might be appropriate -- but again, it depends upon the cause.

Musiclover,

Sometimes it takes time to uncover everything that is actually causing the pain and sometimes its additional factors that are unknown at the time and are discovered later down the line.

Don't give up, there's a reason this is happening and the early you can find out the full details of why you are experiencing that level of pain, the better it can be treated.

I had severe back pain at 26 and it wasn't until I was 29 that the true cause of my issues were discovered.

Hi musiclover

I am so sorry younarevhaving to go through all this at your age, when you should be out having fun and enjoying yourself

I too think you should politely ask your doctor for x rays or maybe a scan. That will show anything up and put your mind at rest re the scoliosis. I too have had scoliosis and had awful pain from it but again the degree was higher.

My feelings would be to maybe see a physiotherapist, it is so important to keep the back muscles strong to avoid disc problems if you can. Many people get relief from chiropractors too. Swimming is great, especially in a warm pool, if that is too painful even walking in water is good. I too would be wary of taking anything too strong at your age. You need something to make you comfortable and able to function. My experience, although I am much older than you, is similar to many - finding the cause of back pain can by a long journey but don't give up, keep fighting until you know what you are dealing with.

Good luck music lover and best wishes

Jane

Thank you all for being so wonderful. I'm going through a pretty tough time right now but it means alot to have support from all of you. If any of you want to share your stories, struggles, or advice then feel free too. I would love to listen to all of you. I hope all of you find relief from your pain. Thank you again.