BAD BACK

More teens and young adults hit with degenerative disc disease

- Amrita Kaur

In her late 20s, Ms Jeslyn Ng began experiencing severe lower back pain and shooting pains down her left leg after caring for her late grandmother for a week.

Back then, in 2018, she had to carry her grandmother daily from the bed to the wheelchair and back.

The physical strain took its toll. "The pain in my back and leg started when I was resting one to two days after caring for her. Even passing stools became painful," says Ms Ng, who is now in her mid-30s.

Simple tasks like sitting for more than five minutes and bending to reach for things became agonising for Ms Ng, a healthcare professional in a public hospital.

"I couldn't tolerate driving, especially when I was caught in traffic jams," she says.

For three months, she tried managing the pain with core strengthening exercises she found online, but they offered little relief.

So, she saw Dr Loo Wee Lim, then a consultant spine surgeon at Changi General Hospital.

Ms Ng was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease after a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

The condition occurs when the soft discs between the bones in the spine wear out over time. These discs act like cushions, helping you to move, bend and twist comfortably as well as absorb shocks.

Dr Loo, now a consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon at Synergy Orthopaedic Group, prescribed her painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication and referred her to a physiotherapist.

Ms Ng attended physiotherapy sessions every three weeks for four months.

"The physiotherapist taught me exercises that strengthened my core and reduced my reliance on my back muscles. There was also advice on how to carry out my daily activities, in terms of being mindful of my posture when I'm sitting, standing and bending to reach for things on the ground," she says.