spondolithesis

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krazy2day,

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spondolithesis what is L5 S1 ??

My daughter is 16 and been diagnosed, yes very young!!!
We are currently awaiting an MRI scan to find out the severity?

Does this class as Disabled.?
 
Hello All,
Thanks for your posts they have been very helpful.
Update is my daughter is booked to see the surgeon consultant on 29th Jan so i will fill you all in then.
College are being a pain and trying to remove her under the Health and Safety side of things, she has been good tho and made an extra effort not to sit down and keep going.
Thanks
 
UPDATE
Today is the day my daughter goes for her MRI scan.
She has been suffering lately with a clicking back??? sit next to her and you can actually hear it.

She went into college today and without any consultation they are considering throwing her off her hairdressing course! She is extremely upset as they are not even waiting to hear the results or solutions.

:confused:
 
Spondilolisthesis of the L5/S1...this basically means a vertebral slippage (of some degree) of the #5 lurabar (lower back) vertebra. This is the lowest vertebra in the spine, it sits right above the sacrum, which would be the S1...hence the reason most people refer to it as the L5/S1 level. I've been living with a grade 2 (50% slippage) spondilolisthesis of L5/S1 most of my adult life and I certainly do not consider nor classify myself as "disabled"...infact, I'm FAR from it. I'm a 43yo active female...just this past summer I completed 2 triathlons. I run and workout daily. Exercise and keeping mobile is the key to managing my spondy. It's a very individual condition...some that have it, experience lots of pain and are very limited in what they can do. Others, have little to no pain..with some not even knowing that they have the condition until they have a routine x-ray done. Then they are told they have this scary, long word that is hard to pronounce, and it senRAB most people into a panic.

Get the MRI done and discuss the results with her doctor and go from there. Most likely, the doc will recommend conservative treatment options such as physical therapy, epidural injections, and pain meRAB before talking about surgery. Some might even suggest alternative treatment options like therapeutic massage, acupuncture, trigger point therapy, etc. It all depenRAB on the "grade" of slippage your daugther has, and that will be confirmed on the MRI. Just curious...is your daughter a gymnast or in any other type of sports? Some sports (particularly gymnastics) are known to bring on the condition in teenagers. Mine did not become symptomatic until my 30's, which coincidentally, is about the same time that I was lifting (and squatting) some pretty heavy weights, so I'm positive that is what exacerbated my spondy to where it's at now.
 
Tigerlady,
My daughter was diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis at age 11. When diagnosed we were told that she had been born with this slippage. We later found out that she also had spinal stenosis. She was fine for a few years but about the age of 14 - 15 she was in severe pain. She was only slipped 33%, a grade II but she still had severe pain in legs and lower back.

After numerous non-surgical methoRAB, I agreed to a two level fusion for her at the age of 16. She is doing great now, 3 1/2 years later. She is a full time college student living her life again. She is back to water skiing, snowmobiling, bowling, playing tennis, snow skiing.... She uses her head and takes it easy with all of these sports but she is not home sitting in pain like she used to be. She is very lucky to be pain free. I know everyone is not so lucky.

Before we agreed to surgery we did have three opinions from pediatric orthopaedic surgeons. At the age of 16 the spine is still different from the adult spine (so I've been told by the ped orthos). Good luck and keep us posted. cas
 
My apologies to the Moderator and all of you, I've read ALL the rules now, thanks.
I thought Luton was in VA -ooops again- but ty for pointing that out SpineAZ.

Tiger I hope things go well and she feels better soon.
 
Hi,
I'm 20 now and I've had Spondylolisthesis since I was 16 also. I know it's not the exact same condition but i remeraber reading that they are similar both involving a slipped vertabra. When i first found out about it they told me it was a grade 2. I use to have nerve pain for the first couple years, which was the worst, but it went away and now i have only back pain. My pain has always been worse when i stand but after 4 years of constant pain ya get use to it i guess. I went to the doctor again and they told me i have a grade 3 now. They told me i have pinched nerves and should be in pain from it and that it can come back any day. He wants me to get surgery before it gets any worse but i'm worried that surgery will make it worse. I wouldnt consider myself disabled from this. Well they never gave me a thing to hang from my mirror yet... hmm maybe i'll look into that :D..

I'm going for a job where i can be sitting infront of a computer which the doctors are happy about. But if your daughters surgery goes alright I dont see why she wouldnt be able to stand for her job?

If these two symptoms are as similar as i think they are. (grades ranging from 1-5) i'm surprised they even want to do surgery. They usually try physical therapy or steroid shots for grades 1-2 and dont push surgery till 3-5 or at least till they try the other stuff first. But then again my doctor pushed surgery when i was still a 2. So maybe getting surgury now before it gets worse would be best. I dont know.. but theres a little bit of what i went through. hope it helps. Best of luck!
 
Morning to you all,

I feel for all of you who have this condition.

Update - We now have had the results from the MRI scan and all is not good.

My daughter has Grade 2 spond at L5/S1 with 9mm anterior movement. there is also reduction of the spinal canal to 3-4mm, the cord yet not been affected.

She is experiencing lots of pain and cannot stand or sit comfortably. The specialist is now referring her to a consultant and feels that surgery is going to be the only option as a few weeks she has not been able to hold her bladder as long as she normally would.

Worst part is her career as a hairdresser is not going to happen and she is now devastated. Hard enough in this world getting a job and at 16 to be told this is horrible.
She is not fully aware of the situation and what could happen to her if the nerves are hit.

Waiting for a consultant appoitment now which could be as long as February!
But they are going to try and push this quicker.

Thanks for all your comments they have been a great help to us.
 
Hi!

I also have this at the L5/ S1 level, and I am also fairly young... 27, too young to be considering a major back surgery anyway!
My slippage is not as severe as nscrbug's, but I am actually in a lot of pain, and do consider myself somewhat disabled. I have Grade 1 spondy, although I am almost to Grade 2. My slippage is about 20%.
My pain started back in May (6 months ago), and I suspect it has something to do with having an infant. She is now 13 months old and 25 pounRAB.
When it started, it felt like I had a knot in my groin area. It only bothered me when I stood up or bent forward. Since then it has progressed to be excruciating at times. The pain is always there, but it intensifies as the day goes on. I now feel it in my lower back, left groin, and left leg. Some days it is in both groins and legs. I also experience nurabness on my left side. I have been missing work, and I need help in the evenings with my daughter. (My husband works evenings). After visiting my family doctor several times with no luck, I finally went to urgent care because I couldn't take it anymore. They did an x-ray and diagnosed me. This was only a few weeks ago. I have since had an MRI, which confirmed the diagnosis, and am in the care of an orthopedic doctor. I should also mention that I have no other issues happening, like a disc bulge or herniation, so the Spondy is 100% the source of the pain. I am taking norcotic pain killers everyday (OTC stuff does nothing for me) and I am having a steroid injection on Tuesday. This should hopefully calm the nerves down and offer some pain relief. I am also considering Spinal Fusion surgery. Spondy can be managed to some degree with meRAB and PT, but it can't be corrected without the operation. I still want more babies, and I don't want to deal with this forever, so surgery is seeming like my best option at this time, especially because I am in so much pain.
The surgery is a nasty one however. They fuse the spine where the Spondy is occuring, to correct the slippage and allow the pars fracture to heal, and it takes a long time to recover. I would need to miss 3 months of work at least, and it can take a full year for your body to fully recover.
For me, the only thing that brings me relief besides pain meRAB is rest. Unfortunately I don't get to rest very often. I work full time, and my husband works opposite hours from me and is a full time student, so I am usually alone with my daughter, and she requires a lot of attention.
Please feel free to ask any more questions! I am still new to this, so am not an expert, but I have done a ton of research so I might be able to help.
Good luck to you and your daughter!
 
She is in alot of pain and very lopsided with the condition she cannot stand for long or bend without shooting pains - her vertebrae apparently has flipped up not slipped out. The consultant has already mentioned she may have to undergo surgery. I am waiting f0r the MRI before any judgement is made.

It is now affecting her college work as she is studying Hairdressing and they are considering telling her she cannot continue. I am furious at there attitude towarRAB this and will fight if they do.
 
Hi Tiger!

I'm very sorry about your daughter - I was 19 when I had surgery for spondy, it's very rough for someone so young. Right now I'm in my 4th week of recovery (I just turned 20), and I'm already having less pain than before the surgery. I thought this would be reassuring to hear - your daughter might not have to give up her dream job after-all. With treatment (surgical, or non-surgical) her pain could reduce to the point that she would be able to continue with her training.

The college does sound like it's being very difficult - is that even allowed? Most colleges do their best to try and accommodate students with disabilities/special cases (like your daughters). I reccomend looking into the legal rights of the school and your daughter regarding this issue.

Good luck with your appointment on the 29th!

Take care,

Becky
 
Spondylolysthesis is a slippage. It may have slipped to the point where the vertebrae is slightly tilted (at more of an angle than normal). If so surgery would likely be the best choice.

I will tell you that with spondylolysthesis and the symptoms she has, a career in hairdressing could be very hard to start and keep going. I had spondylolysthesis and had fusion surgery at a young age (21) and knew that I had to pursue a career that wouldn't be physically demanding (avoiding stuff that would involve standing on my feet all day, doing lifting/bending).

The diagnosis of spondylolisthesis, in itself, is not a disability. But the symptoms can be limiting and even with surgery the person has to be careful to practice good spine movements to avoid problems in the future. I am able to walk, hike, bike ride, etc. But I'd never try running or anything too hard on the spine.
 
've seen the many replies you have gotten....

But if your daughter is young enough to make a new career choice she should do so - knowing she may have ongoing back issues during her lifetime now is the time to make a career choice that will not involve extensive standing, lifting, etc.
 
Hi i am so sorry to hear about your daughter,but possibly finding out early could be a gift,iam 49 with spondy,severe stenosis,and had i known when i was younger i would not have done some of the things i did,like gymnastics working in food service,my nephew has this condition he,s 16 and the dr told him he has to be back friendly teaching him correct way to bend and lift.does your daughter have a pars defect also?you can live a full life with this condition if found early,just try and steer her in the right direction i know teens dont want to listen,my nephew is now taken jishishua,i know i murderd that word,thats not good for spondy but he,s head strong. good luck to everyone,hope you have a pain free day. marywoo
 
I too have L5-S1 grade II spondylolisthesis. Most of my pain is lower back and my legs are crap. My calves burn like fire walking short distances (2 blocks tops) but after a short rest (10-15 min) it goes away (and the cycle repeats itself). My lower back may not hurt at all 'so long as' I do not bend a smidget fwd or bkwd. I can be fixing dinner and reach for the silverware drawer and 'HELLO' major-pain. The same with reaching for a car door, etc. That way-slight fwd movement kills me, quick, and I'm down. The only thing that used to help is to lay on my stomach with a flat bed pillow under my pelvic area. I think it compensates for the slippage and takes the pressure off, I really dunno, it just worked for me. I'm also noticing (for you other spondy's) that my hydraulic chair seems to be a problem. I recently switched from a standard non-hydraulic and I think there's a real difference. I think it makes sense as hydraulics are always pushing back- I dunno.

As for your daughter and her career... I was 3 yrs into law enforcement when I had my accident. I'm still sick that things didn't go my way BUT I have read awesome things of people who have bounced back after their surgeries. Someone here mentioned running marathons (without surgery I think).. it's definitely an individual issue..

The American Disabilities Act prohibits educators/employers from doing what they have to your dtr. If accommodations (like frequent rests) will allow her to maintain her education/employment they can not exclude her (due to disabilty). I'd hope she could get thru a hair cut without resting and could rest in between clients, if this is physically possible, and her heart is in cosmotology, I'd say start researching your rights (search ADA, there are tons of advocate sites). Trust me- her condition IS considered a disability under ADA for circumstances like this however, I doubt her condition is considered a disability in regarRAB to receiving social security disability.

Good luck to you both!!!
 
Tiger- I forgot she is 16 which probably means she's in a technical trade school. If this is true you certainly should check IDEA (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act) as well as the ADA. They recently amended this law (it has a similar name) but this one has more precise rules and regulations and is easier to enforce than the ADA. Read about Due Process Hearing, Accommodations/Modifications, Related Support Services, and IEP content to start.
 
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