She Was a Tough Kid Something Just Didn’t Feel Right
When her mum brought her in, you could tell she wasn’t the kind of girl to make a fuss. Fourteen years old. A sprinter. Strong, focused, and pretty competitive by the sounds of it. Her back had been aching after training for a few weeks. At first, they both thought it was nothing. Just a bit of stiffness. But over the next two months, it got worse and worse. Eventually, she couldn’t even get through a PE lesson without needing to sit down.
That’s not normal. Not for a healthy, active teenager.
She’d already seen the GP, who told her to rest for two weeks and take some painkillers. But when she tried to run again, the pain came straight back. That’s when her mum, who I’d treated before, decided it was time to get a second opinion. She brought her daughter in to see me, and from the very beginning, I knew this needed looking at properly.
She Moved Well But Something Deeper Was Going On
When we assessed her, everything looked great on the surface. She moved really well. Her hips were flexible. Her strength was impressive for someone her age. It didn’t match up with what you’d expect from someone struggling with back pain.
But there was one thing that stood out.
Any time she leaned backwards into lumbar extension, especially when standing on one leg, her pain ramped up fast. And that, in young athletes, is a red flag. It immediately made me suspicious that we might be dealing with something called a pars fracture, a common type of stress fracture we see in active adolescents.
So I referred her straight away for an MRI.
Sure enough, the scan confirmed a bilateral pars fracture, a stress fracture on both sides of her lower spine.
Total Rest and the Right Rehab Plan Gave Her the Space to Heal
With a confirmed diagnosis, we knew what had to happen. Unlike many types of back pain that respond to movement and strength work, pars fractures need proper rest. So for 12 weeks, she stopped all sport completely to let the bone heal. That rest is absolutely critical for this type of injury.
But that doesn’t mean we sat back and did nothing.
Throughout her rest period, we gave her a simple, focused program to keep her body strong. She worked on her glutes, adductors, hamstrings, and some basic core strength, just enough to keep everything switched on without stressing the spine. She did it all at home, nothing fancy, but incredibly effective.
By week 12, she felt fantastic. Her hips were strong. Her core was ready. And most importantly, she had no back pain.
Slow and Steady She Got Back to Sprinting Pain Free
We eased her back into activity in a careful, structured way. First, a bit of walk jog intervals. Then more jogging. Then short sprints. Over six weeks, she built up to full sprint sessions, and her body handled everything beautifully.
By the end, she was back on the track with zero pain and total confidence.
But here’s the most important part of this story. Her recovery only went this smoothly because her mum knew something wasn’t right. She didn’t settle for rest and painkillers. She trusted her instincts, took action, and got her daughter the proper care she needed. That’s what made the difference.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Teenagers get growing pains. They get stiff. They get sore. And too often, when they complain about back pain, they get dismissed, told they’re being soft, that it’s just tight muscles, or that they need to stretch more.
But adolescent backs are different. Their bones are still developing. Their growth plates are still open. And if they’re highly active, their spines can be under a lot of pressure, especially in sports like sprinting, gymnastics, or football.
Pars fractures are common in teenagers, and when missed or ignored, they can become chronic problems in adult life. We’ve seen countless adults in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s with long term back issues that started when they were teens. And when we scan them, guess what we find? A pars fracture that was never diagnosed or managed properly when they were younger.
Getting the right help early doesn’t just fix the problem now. It can save years of pain and frustration down the line.
So if your son or daughter keeps complaining of back pain after sport, or starts changing how they move, how they play, or how they sit at school, don’t brush it off. It might be nothing. But it might be something that deserves a closer look.
Joe Sharp
BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
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