Here's a bit of history:
I'm a 20 year-old female who began having
back pain at around 17.
A couple years back I began to notice that
I often had visible bruises and soreness
on the surface of my back running down my
spine. I realized this was due to sitting
against hard seat backs in class and
laying on a wooden dance studio floor to
do stretches. My spine protrudes quite a
bit from my back when I am standing
straight, and especially when I bend over.
I am not underweight. I also began to
notice that I had abnormally low
flexibility in my legs, despite the amount
of time I spent stretching and exercising
for my dance classes. For example, when I
lay flat on my back I can only raise my
legs about 45 degrees from the floor when
aiming for 90 degrees. Trying to pull them
higher makes my spine curve against the
ground so far that I tip over to one side
or the other. I went to my doctor when I
began experiencing deeper back pain in my
mid to upper back. She took x-rays and
sent me to a physiotherapist who told me I
had minor scoliosis. I went weekly for a
couple of months to do back-strengthening
exercises and eventually the pain went
away. I still do core-strengthening
exercises at home, but lately the pain in
my back has been really bad. I work in the
performing arts and it is necessary for me
to be very physical and flexible on a
daily to weekly basis.
Here is what's bothering me right now:
- Deep and superficial back pain
- Sections of my spine jut out and sink in
unevenly causing my spine to constantly
grind against hard surfaces like the floor
and chair backs
- Bruised spots sometimes appear on my
lower-mid back
- Weakness and lack of flexibility in legs
(but no leg pain)
- Sitting down I often get numbness on the
right side of my butt and my right leg. I
feel like I'm sitting on a part of my body
unevenly and can't find comfort after
sitting for about half an hour.
- I sometimes experience cramping in my
hips
- Head and neck aches
I am considering seeing a chiropractor,
but my schedule is very difficult. Any
advice at all will be much appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time.
