DD (14) and back pain - what to do?

[Rollergirl11]

She has had back pain for a while now, certainly the last few months. Initially we put it down to spending all day hunched over at her desk and not moving around enough while home-schooling. She would start off the day fine and it would get worse throughout the day. Now during the summer holidays it is still hurting her to the point that she is having to take ibuprofen every day to combat the pain. But then she is going about her day as usual. Although she says that sometimes if she moves suddenly or coughs or sneezes she is winded from the pain. Now the pain is so bad that painkillers are not touching it. Today she is crying from the pain.

Throughout it all she has been active and exercising regularly but now can’t because it hurts too much.

Our GP surgery are using LIVI video consultations for all appointments and the first appointment it comes up with is next Sunday. I don’t even know what they can do over the phone anyway. I can call the local osteopath tomorrow and speak to them and potentially book her in for an assessment. Or do I take her to A&E today? DD doesn’t want to as she says it’s not serious enough despite her crying with the pain. I feel bad that she’s been suffering for this long but don’t know if it warrants a trip to A&E? Is an osteopath our best bet? Any ideas?

Sympathies OP, it must be horrible watching your child in such pain. It definitely needs investigating having dragged on so long, and a daily requirement of ibuprofen is not good.

How is her health generally? Does the pain wake her at night? Has she lost weight?

If the pain is at the point it is causing her to cry then personally I would be phoning 111 and getting her seen in some capacity today.

Don’t think I’d take her to a&e

If you have hot water bottle try putting that on it
The worse thing she can do is lie down or sit and not move about.
Walking is good, although she may not feel like it which is understandable but not good

I’d get her to an osteopath if you can,
It’s about getting it moving again. If she getting intermittent sharp pain it may be spasm
as you say gp can’t do anything via video. They could perhaps send her for x-ray

I would definitely get her seen by a doctor either her own or A&E. If she's crying with the pain then it's obviously really bad. I have back pain and sciatica and when I cry with my pain it's awful. I'm sorry she is suffering with it.

Highly recommend seeing an osteopath, they'll be able to free up the spasming muscles which will help it heal. They might also be able to suggest the best course of action for investigating what's going on. Mine has reopened recently so hopefully you could find one. I was scared going the first time but it was wonderful, didn't have to take clothes off and really made a huge difference

Forgot to add, I hope she gets some relief soon. It's horrible to deal with.

Any nerve issues? Weakness in legs or arms? Any numb patches? Difficulty peeing or incontinence? Does the pain ease on lying flat? Sitting? Curled up?

I also recommend an osteopath, and if at all possible some pilates afterwards to help strengthen her core and fix the underlying problem.

If you can possibly afford some private pilates it would be best initially, so they can really narrow in on problem areas.

Another one recommending seeing an osteopath. If you are south Birmingham I can't recommend mine highly enough. They can also refer you DD for a scan (private) if necessary.

ring 111. They were brilliant when I had to call them

Personally, I would get her seen by a Dr first and see what they say.
If after potential tests/scans they feel she needs an osteopath then go down that route.
Just get checked first to make sure.

Since there is a wait for the doctor maybe see if you can go in and see a chiropractor. They are seeing people. Best case they maybe able to help worst case at least you know that it must be seen by a doctor. I done this with both my neck and back pains when I was waiting weeks to see a doctor and they helped resolve the issue without the need for the GP. I hope your DD feels better soon.

She has no nerve pain, no numbness or pins & needles. It doesn’t feel better in any specific position but she gets sharp pain if she moves in a certain way or coughs or sneezes. No difficulty going to the toilet (although she has never been particularly regular but that is another story).

I would say that she has reasonably good core strength as she has been doing around 3/4 HIIT sessions on YouTube each week since March and used to go to the gym regularly before that. I did wonder if perhaps that could be the cause of the pain, if she is doing a specific move with poor posture.

I think I will call an osteopath tomorrow, hopefully they can get to the bottom of what the issue is.

Had she had any sort of accident before the pain started? I ask because when I had my spine x-rayed last week after a fall, they found an old fracture. I'm 66 now, but when I was 12 I slipped at school at landed hard on my bottom. My parents didn't take me to hospital at the time because they thought it couldn't be anything more than a pulled muscle or I wouldn't be able to walk. Turns out I was actually walking around with a spinal fracture, which made it too uncomfortable to stand properly erect, and my spine is now badly curved.

and landed hard

If you can't get her pain under control and she is crying from it, take her to a&e op. If not, phone the GP surgery first thing in the morning and tell them you need an emergency appointment.

A bad posture while doing HIIT would certainly do it!

The fact that she is fit doesn’t mean her core is right.

Dh has always been an exercise addict, but he got a hernia and discovered his posture was not quite right. This is why I suggested some one on one attention from a pilates instructor.

The good news is that with the right kind of exercise these things really can be sorted, despite the doom and gloom certain medical professionals seem to enjoy casting.

Dh and I have both done it.

Definitely could be related to all that HIT, and if she is capable of maintaining that degree of workout whilst having the pain it speaks well to her general health.

With that said (and I say this with the utmost respect for the many wonderful osteopaths I have seen in the past), I would make a doctor your first port of call. Back pain has many causes in young people, but the mechanisms and underlying pathologies are often different to those affecting adults. Rarely, it can be a sign of serious underlying illness and whilst it doesnt sound like your daughter has any major red flags in this respect, I think this has gone on long enough to warrant proper medical investigation.