Countless problems with legs following whiplash injury, should I see a doctor?

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hi!

About 5 years ago I fell off a horse, landed square between my eyes and flipped over my neck onto my back, crushing my neck backwards. I received minor/moderate concussion and a don't remember much of what happened after, cracking my riding helmet in the process.

A year and a half/two years on, one night my legs flared up and were itching horribly around my ankles/feet/toes. This carried on for about a year and a half, with my doc diagnosing it as dermatitis. However the treatment he gave me was absolutely useless, and I was a little skeptical that it was a sin condition due to there being absolutely no physical symptoms. The itching was worse in the evenings or when I was sitting/lying down and I found nothing that could alleviate the symptoms. My friend suggested that it could be RLS.

After about a year and a half I started to get intense aching pain in my shins in the evening. This didn't worsen when I moved around but did make it uncomfortable. While the itching has currently stopped this horrible deep ache continues to bother me most days, but now also affects my knees a lot more, and not only in the evening but during the day-time as well. The doctor recently diagnosed it as GROWING PAINS. I'm 17, and they occur at any time. Often during the middle of class. The only thing that helps the pain a little is 2 ibuprofen, and there's no swelling.

I have also experienced some jolting of my leg when sitting down. Similarly I have experienced numbness and tingling in my feet when lying or sitting - but both of these aren't often. Perhaps one or two occurrences a week. I also get pins and needles very easily, sometimes by just sitting. And sometimes when I ride my horse, I loose the feeling in one of my legs and have incredible leg/ankle weakness until I rest it (however I'm aware this could be due to something else entirely)

Finally, I often get an intense shooting pain in my hip/s, often my right hip. The shooting pain originates in my hip joint/just above and shoots down to my thigh but is more painful in the hip joint - this completely hinders walking and I often walk with a limp when I have it. I always call it a "trapped nerve" and thought that it was a common thing to have until I asked a few of my friends and they said they've never heard of it. Sometimes it's difficult to lay down on my back because of the shooting pain - and I can't stop the pain unless I bend me knee - however it subsides in it's own time.

I was wondering if any or all of these symptoms could be caused by a possible back injury as a result of my fall 5 or so years ago?

However, my symptoms only started about 2 years (tops) after the accident. On the other hand it seems to be getting worse and more frequent, so I need to do something about this!

After asking two other people they recommended ct/MRI scans as it could be a result of a herniated disk.

Any thoughts? I'm 17 and really can't be dealing with this much constant pain.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Grace,doesn't sound like fun,I have nerve damage 24hrs 7 days a week pain,this happened when I was plastering and turned in a closet that's all,and 15 years later no change,I have had so many mri's and they see nothing,but that doesn't mean something not wrong,when I sit it's worse because I'm told I am probably pinching the nerves which then cause enormous pain in both legs and send signal to the brain, they call it chronic pain,chronic as it's continuous and it's a mystery of which I assure you Grace is real in millions of people.don't be discouraged by your Dr insist on having or ask your parents to do so on follow up treatment in the nearest pain clinic every hospital has one.

    when you have pain from leg nerves etc try and lay flat, no pillow and be careful with ibuprofen it might affect your stomach.all the info you receive from people is just that,stay positive and good luck.

    • Posted

      thank you for your help!  Yes, a lot of the pain occurs when I'm sitting - but when I lay flat I tend to get a sharp sciatic sort of pain down my hip/s.  I find bending my knees until it eases helps with that!  I try not to take ibruprophen unless it's incredibly bad because both my Grandad and my Mum have had problems with stomach ulcers in the past!  Not so good, haha!
  • Posted

    Doctors surely had to consider RLS, if they made different diagnosis it seems that sympthoms does not suit the RLS. However I would consider curing RLS and make it an experiment.

    Nevertheless you problem may be cause but something that exist in different part of your body. For this reason scans are very good idea.

     

    • Posted

      Thanks a lot!  I suspected it could be RLS however I never get that feeling that I have to move my legs, and about 90% of the time the symptoms don't ease if I move about.. so that doesn't quite add up.   I'll consider going for a scan if I can persuade my doctor and mother haha.
    • Posted

      also I love your profile picture haha! got to love a bit of Hugh Laurie
    • Posted

      I do like dr House, I watched all episodes.

      Both you and your doctor have to think which type of scan would be the best.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.