My 21yo child gets intermittent swelling at the base of her spine. It swells right above the butt crack and spreads out in an oval fashion. The largest we have seen is approximately 3-4″ in diameter. It is definitely fluid-filled and is gushy when pressed. Sometimes it is painful, sometimes not. It is not painful to the touch, nor hot to the touch. If it bothers her during exercise, she will avoid that exercise. It is exacerbated from long stretches of sitting (airplane, car rides.) Internist and blood work were normal. Spine doctor took x-ray. X-ray shows small “bat wing” at base of spine. Spine doctor said it could be her pelvic bone putting pressure on something but had no clue. He ordered PT. PT did not resolve it. PTs had no advice as to what it was. Osteopath who examined her, wanted to refer for MRI looking for dural tear or leaking disc. This has not been done yet, because of insurance and her going out of state for school.
She is 21yo, and relatively healthy. No car accidents. However, she did pole vaulting in high school for 2 years, skiis and does water sports (water skiing and tubing-with falls from this activity.) It was first noticed after a week long lake trip vacation (long drive plus tubing all week,) at age 19. It is not impacting her life as a whole, but I am concerned there is no answer and I do not want it to cause issues down the line (i.e. pregnancies) where we could have easily fixed it early on.
Have you seen/heard of anything like this?
Can send pictures if needed.
She attends school in CO if you have a referral(s) to the type of doctor or a doctor that she should be seen by (Denver area.)
Thank you,
Natalie F.
