ttlkyates,
I don`t know how to answer your questions,because of the age of your daughter and her physical fittness there is no telling what the future holds for her.Yes she might have pain the rest of her life but then agian she could be ok.Her syrnix is not as long as some others have and you didn`t say that she was diagnosed with Chiari one,so maybe all that she will have is the pain.At this point if she keeps her physical fittness up and takes care of herself and dosen`t particapate in any contact sports where there is any chance of an injury to her back then she might not progress any further than what she is now.
When I was diagnosed I was already in my 50`s and had some pryor back injuries[Trama to my spine].They think that trama contributed to my problems as I have 3 syrnix`s in my spinal cord.C-4 to C-7,T-5 to T-8,T-11 to L-3.The best thing she can do is to stay positive and keep fit and by all means have it monitored to make sure it is not getting bigger,by that I mean wider as well as longer.Mine started to cause my spinal cord to swell and they had to shunt it in order to relieve pressure because I was loosing muscle strength as well as having numbness in my hands and feet.
I hope this is what you are looking for,sorry that I could not give you a definite answer but it is a rare disorder and each person has different symptoms and prognocess.

Monte is correct. I was fortunate. Mine was from c4 to c7, caught before it could extend or do any more damage than it already did. Burning, numbness, weakness. I also have chiari. That was in 1986. Some days are good for me and some are bad. For people with SM that is how it will be. I have learned that it is part of my life now so I had to get use to it. Go to asap.org and get a lot of good info you can use.

This is not really advise, but my son who is 7 was just diagnosed with syringomyelia and he has many of the signs that they explain. We have yet to meet with the neurosurgeion to find out the severity of this or what the plan is... I as his mom fear because its uncommon in children even though they say that ususally this develops in the fetus.
If anyone has some words of wisdom or insight please let me know..
thank you

It's hard to tell what will happen because pain and nerve damage can be different from person to person. It's great that this is the only problem she has had though, if the syrinx hasn't caused any other medical problems it seems to me she should be in great shape minus some pain. (If she even gets any.) I don't know how thick it is but a short syrinx like this shouldn't cause much trouble, You just need to make sure the doc keeps an eye on it to make sure it is stable and doesn't get any bigger or thicker. I'm no doctor but I think thing thinks should work out fine. :)

I am so happy that you guys have figured this out now rather than later. I went through 6 neurologists/neurosurgeons before they found that I had a syrinx and tethered cord about a year ago. As unfortunate and frustrating as the condition is, It's wonderful that it's been found now instead of years down the road when it could get bigger and give her nerve damage. Also, do you know what's caused it? It's important for a doctor to rule out any type of Chiari malformation, tethered spinal cord, IIH, etc.. If she has any questions about pain management feel free to ask me. Please tell her she will be in my thoughts.

~Best wishes, Em