[Guest]

Our son was in weight training class last Friday morning at school (football team has this during PE in off season) and he heard his back pop and felt immediate pain. He went over to the coaches and told one of them what happened and asked to call us. The coach told him that it wouldn't be a good idea and to wait to see if it improved later in the day...and to go back to lifting, just use less weight. When he got home from school for the day, he told us that he thought he needed to go to the hospital. No appointments were available, so we ended up having to go to the ER.

He was seen by a PA, who did an x-ray, several types of other tests, including pricking him in different areas with a sharp object and he had no feeling in either of his legs below the knee. The PA called in 2 specialists to go over the tests, and they diagnosed him with a herniated disc. (L-4/L-5) My question is how long should he have this numbness in his legs? He still doesn't feel anything, so we have an appt with our Primary Care Dr. on Monday. Is there anything we should ask at this appt? I appreciate any advice or help I can get regarding this.

[Guest]

It osunds like MRI studies of the lumbar spine should be obtained and a visit with a neurologist should occur. If he is reallydoes have significant sensory loss in his extremities as you describe, not feeling anything, the diagnosis of a L4/5 disc is not likely alone the problem, and a full neurological exam should be done as soon as possible. Obviously, for future information, if an individual complains of significant pain during an exercise such as lifting, he or she should be evaluated medically and not told to just continue the activity. Good luck.
[quote] Our son was in weight training class last Friday morning at school (football team has this during PE in off season) and he heard his back pop and felt immediate pain. He went over to the coaches and told one of them what happened and asked to call us... [/quote]