Question
QUESTION: Hi I am a 18 year old male and in the summer of 2007 I did a back dive into about 2ft of water. I received a compression fracture in my T4 vertebra. I crawled out of the water and walked up a hill and into a car. Then i went to the hospital for a few x-rays and CTs. I had about three check ups after that and the doctors said everything was healing well.

That fall I started wrestling again and it felt good but I would get sore every once in awhile. Now I am in college and I am still wrestling but things are starting to feel a little strange. The soreness has started to get a lot worse, I feel chills all over my body, and I have joint stiffness all over. I also have zero appetite I have not ate in about 3 days and I'm not hungry. I was wondering if these are problems related to by injury or possibly something else? Should I go get another check up?

Thanks for your time and sorry its so long.



ANSWER: hey Max-

yeah, i'd say you might ought to have an mri done. what you describe doesn't sound like the typical spinal cord stuff, which usually people talk about as 'pins and needles' or numbness, but the t4 level is about where your stomach nerves come out- a bit more coincidental than i'd like. it could be that your body put a bit too much calcium into the repair of your vertebra (this happened to my hand)- either way it sounds more bone related than cord, in my opinion

the fact that it's getting worse is the main reason i'd have it checked out- it's not a part of the body you want to deal lightly with. you can see a regular doc or if there's a rehab doc around that'd be great too.

sorry i can't tell you much specific stuff based on your email
good luck to you
leslie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The chills I get are kinda like a numbness. They are tingly like very light pins and needles. When I get these its mainly when I work out. Should I be more concerned?

Answer
ok, i getcha i think. you might have a disc inflammation then- and if what you're doing when you work out aggravates it, it'll get worse, because there's no time in between for it to heal, yes?

my best advice is to have it checked out. in the meantime, it'd be better to take it easy on working out- i doubt you'll do anything drastic and scary but it will make your current problems worse. you can also take ibuprofen, 3 every 4 hours with some food (unless you have problems with ibuprofen). Taking it before it hurts will help it not get so bad. ice will also help, same as any inflammation. dealing with it sooner is better, and should lessen the overall duration, ok?

hope that helps
leslie