Edit: Lengthy read, sorry tfrye!
About a month ago I saw an orthopedic surgeon at The Institute of Spinal Disorders for some lower back pain that I have been plagued by for quite some time. I distinctly remember being 12 years old, getting a scooter for Christmas, and having to cut my time on it short because of the back pain it put me in. I was 12, so it didn't stop me from hopping on again, but it was fairly severe.
Fast-forward to college, 19 years old. I could lift the most on the team on the squat rack - it was my bread and butter. But again, pain in my lower back.
Now let's go to 21/22 years old. I am at my university now, and the pitching coach was all about leg day. And I was to. I don't remember what I maxed out at, I think it was over 600 lbs. I would warm up with two plates on each side, 225, and go up from there. I remember putting four 45 lbs plates on each side for my last set. It was awesome and I wanted to have the strongest legs. After squats though, back pain.
Fast forward to current times. I can't sweep or mop the floor, or bend over to wash my hands, or bend over to work on something on a work bench with out pain. Pretty significant pain. An 8 on the "scale from 1 to 10." The only relief is sitting, laying down, and having a sedentary lifestyle. That's not an option!
I'm no longer in my early 20s. The pain doesn't vanish after a few minutes of rest. It lingers for days. If you followed the bathroom remodel, you know I'm doing the wood working. That requires lifting about 50 to 60 lbs at a time, but because the weight puts stress on my lower back, while lifting it isn't the issue, the pain associated with it afterwards is. And I'm still feeling it today, and I will for the next couple of days as well.
That brings me to an appointment I had about a month ago with my new doctor. He saw the X-ray, found out I had played baseball my whole life, and told me that I had what they call a "Pars Defect"...It's common for football players, gymnasts and pitchers, happening in 1 of 20 of them, according to him.
Essentially when I was growing up and pitching, the motion and movement of "staying closed as long as possible" and having my chest upright caused a space between to lower vertebrae to not attach like it should have when I was growing up. Typically it is supposed to grow into a ligament which then calicifies and turns into bone as a teenager. But because the two vertebrae never met, that "bone" is missing, and is causing me a great deal of pain.
Treatment included a shot of Ketorolac at the first appointment followed by 5 days of steroids, then a week of Ketorolac in pill form, followed by 30 days of Celebrex and a muscle relaxer twice daily. He also ordered PT (which life has been to busy for me to schedule, but I should be good since we've moved to 4x10s at work and I can go on Tuesdays, my 3rd day off), and an MRI and CT scan. I go tomorrow to hand off the results and see where we go from here.
The Ketorolac shot helped immensely and immediately. However, since I'm not off that, I feel like I'm back to about a 6 on the pain scale. More to come.
About a month ago I saw an orthopedic surgeon at The Institute of Spinal Disorders for some lower back pain that I have been plagued by for quite some time. I distinctly remember being 12 years old, getting a scooter for Christmas, and having to cut my time on it short because of the back pain it put me in. I was 12, so it didn't stop me from hopping on again, but it was fairly severe.
Fast-forward to college, 19 years old. I could lift the most on the team on the squat rack - it was my bread and butter. But again, pain in my lower back.
Now let's go to 21/22 years old. I am at my university now, and the pitching coach was all about leg day. And I was to. I don't remember what I maxed out at, I think it was over 600 lbs. I would warm up with two plates on each side, 225, and go up from there. I remember putting four 45 lbs plates on each side for my last set. It was awesome and I wanted to have the strongest legs. After squats though, back pain.
Fast forward to current times. I can't sweep or mop the floor, or bend over to wash my hands, or bend over to work on something on a work bench with out pain. Pretty significant pain. An 8 on the "scale from 1 to 10." The only relief is sitting, laying down, and having a sedentary lifestyle. That's not an option!
I'm no longer in my early 20s. The pain doesn't vanish after a few minutes of rest. It lingers for days. If you followed the bathroom remodel, you know I'm doing the wood working. That requires lifting about 50 to 60 lbs at a time, but because the weight puts stress on my lower back, while lifting it isn't the issue, the pain associated with it afterwards is. And I'm still feeling it today, and I will for the next couple of days as well.
That brings me to an appointment I had about a month ago with my new doctor. He saw the X-ray, found out I had played baseball my whole life, and told me that I had what they call a "Pars Defect"...It's common for football players, gymnasts and pitchers, happening in 1 of 20 of them, according to him.
Essentially when I was growing up and pitching, the motion and movement of "staying closed as long as possible" and having my chest upright caused a space between to lower vertebrae to not attach like it should have when I was growing up. Typically it is supposed to grow into a ligament which then calicifies and turns into bone as a teenager. But because the two vertebrae never met, that "bone" is missing, and is causing me a great deal of pain.
Treatment included a shot of Ketorolac at the first appointment followed by 5 days of steroids, then a week of Ketorolac in pill form, followed by 30 days of Celebrex and a muscle relaxer twice daily. He also ordered PT (which life has been to busy for me to schedule, but I should be good since we've moved to 4x10s at work and I can go on Tuesdays, my 3rd day off), and an MRI and CT scan. I go tomorrow to hand off the results and see where we go from here.
The Ketorolac shot helped immensely and immediately. However, since I'm not off that, I feel like I'm back to about a 6 on the pain scale. More to come.
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