15 year old severe disc extrusion and disc bulge

[SeanGhazazani]

Hello,

My names sean ghazazani, 15 year old teenager. About one month ago after going to the gym i started noticing a very very minimal pain in my back, i thought i had simply overworked myself at the gym and i was sore. I continued going to the gym with this pain untill it eventually grew to become unbearable.

My MRI showed :

l2-l3 disc bulge

l4-l5 severe disc extrusion

At this point after about two months of physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy Im usure about what im sapost to do to get better. I cant go to school because its very uncomftorble to sit in a chair and I cannot stand for 1-2 hours for each class. What should i do, I got my MRI response recently and have been told that im waiting for a appointment with a neurosurgeon, but since the wait time is so high in canada, My parents are willing to take a flight to the US to help heal my back. Should i get surgery, or what should i be doing to get better?


Thanks alot for taking your time to read the entire post, appreciate it.

[SeanGhazazani]

Hi Dr.Sharma, thanks for welcoming to the forums, and im happy to join.

I have one last quick question, what are your thoughts on decompression therapy, should I see a chiropracteur for this procedure, since their is a very long waitlist for me to see a neurosurgeon in Canada, should I attempt Decompression Therapy, or is it not worth the 4,000 dollars.

Also, what surgery would you recommend for my problems? Minimally invaisve, disectomies and ect.

Once again, thanks for reading my comment, and hope you have a good day.

[Dr Sharma]

Dear Sean, welcome to the neurology forum on medhelp and thanks for posting this query.  I can understand the back pain following the back injury and the MRI says severe disc extrusion L4 L5 levels which means that disc has broken through the fibrous enclosure or the annulus. This disc material can press against a nerve causing pain, tingling,numbness and weakness.
Since you have already tried massage therapy, accupunture and physiotherapy without much benefit, and the pain continues to be severe and interfering with your routine activities like going to school you need to consult a neurosurgeon immediately for surgical intervention. Surgical options available are the minimally invasive ones like endoscopic procedures, open decompressions, placement of interspinous spacers, discectomies, fusions and total disc replacements. Meanwhile you can take some over the counter available analgesics for pain relief.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me for any further query. Take care.