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Sterling Ridge Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine
6767 Lake Woodlands Drive, Suite F, The Woodlands, TX 77382
20639 Kuykendahl Road, Suite 200, Spring, TX 77379
The Woodlands & Spring, TX .
Ph: 281-364-1122 832-698-011
stacy@srosm.com






Ankle
Child Orthopedics
Elbow
Foot
Fractures
General
Hand
Hip
Knee
Pain Management
Shoulder
Spine - Cervical
Spine - General
Spine - Lumbar
Spine - Thoracic
Wrist

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I'm a 16-year old girl who is very athletic and in good shape. I've started having back pain that's getting worse over time. I guess I thought playing sports and exercising would protect me from this kind of problem. Does this happen very often? What could be causing it?

Chronic low back pain in a young person can be very puzzling. Before advances in technology with MRIs and CT scans, we only had X-rays to rely upon. If the cause of the pain didn't show up as a fracture, tumor, or other serious back problem, it was assumed to be psychologic.

Today, young people like yourself are very active and involved in sports. You may have injured your spine with a sport-related trauma that you aren't even aware of. And recent research has identified a couple of conditions in young patients that were previously thought to be only seen in older adults.

One of these is called degenerative disc disease (DDD). In your age group this is referred to as juvenile DDD. With DDD, the disc between two vertebrae bulges or even herniates and protrudes out of its protective covering. The bulge or protrusion pushes directly back against the spinal cord causing back and/or leg pain.

Another cause of chronic low back pain in older adults that can also affect young people is called spinal stenosis. This is a narrowing of the spaces where the spinal cord and spinal nerves are located.

But before jumping to any conclusions about the cause of your pain, see a doctor. There could be a simple explanation for your symptoms. Most causes of back pain that are identified early and treated quickly have a good result.


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