Pain in the legs can be different: quickly passing and insignificant or excruciating, which does not allow you to sleep, walk and do daily activities. Pain can take many forms, accompanied by tingling, numbness, or weakness in the legs. Pain can be caused by a problem in the legs themselves, but often it is in the lower back, where the base of the sciatic nerve is located.
Symptoms and description of leg pain
Not all leg pain caused by the lower back presents the same way.
- Burning pain in legs. Sometimes severe pain radiates to the leg constantly, and sometimes it is penetrating and passing. Unlike many forms of low back pain, which are often mild, leg pain can be almost unbearable. This type of burning pain in the legs often accompanies nerve root irritation in the lower back (sciatica).
- Numbness or tingling in the legs. Leg numbness caused by a lower back problem can be almost permanent and significantly impair a person's quality of life. For example, walking or driving with a numb leg is almost impossible. Typical symptoms range from slight tingling to complete numbness of the leg, including the foot.
- Weakness or heaviness in the feet. Such weakness or heaviness in the legs makes movement much more difficult. A person literally has to drag their foot along, because it is not able to move at the right pace on its own.
- Persistent pain. Such pain usually appears in the buttocks, so it is not technically leg pain, but it can also radiate to the leg. This type of pain is called neuralgia. As a rule, it is felt only on one side, its cause is inflammation of the sciatic nerve or lumbar radiculopathy.
- Positional pain in the leg. If your leg pain gets worse when you sit, stand, or walk, it could indicate a problem in a specific area of your lower back. To relieve such pain, it is enough to find a comfortable position. For example, bending over can relieve pain from spinal stenosis, etc.
The following are lower back problems that result in leg pain.
Degenerative disease of the lumbar intervertebral discs.
As we age, our intervertebral discs lose water, flexibility and become less mobile, which can cause pain to spread from the disc to the leg. The main symptom of this disease is pain in the lower back. Also, leg pain due to degenerative disc disease can occur due to compression of the nerve root. This is due to the reduction of the disk in size and its movement. This phenomenon is called foraminal stenosis.
Lumbar disc herniation
When a herniated disc is formed, pressure is applied to the weakest point of the disc, just below the nerve root. This causes leg pain that radiates from the sciatic nerve.
Stenosis of the spinal canal in the lumbar region
Stenosis of the spinal canal in the lumbar region is most often (but not always) seen in older patients, as the facet joints become enlarged due to age-related degeneration of the spine. As a result, the nerve roots of the spine are pinched. Symptoms of spinal stenosis include pain, tingling, weakness and/or numbness in the legs.
Displacement of a vertebra
A slip of a vertebra occurs when a vertebra slips forward onto the next lower vertebra, disrupting the natural structure of a segment of the spine, as well as its stability and flexibility. This unsteadiness can lead to a pinched nerve that causes pain in the legs.
The piriformis syndrome and dysfunction of the sacroiliac joint can also cause pain in the legs.
To make it easier for the doctor to diagnose pain in the legs, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- a place where pain occurs;
- body position in which pain occurs;
- the nature of the pain (pulling, tingling, cutting, burning, etc.);
- frequency of pain (rare, frequent, constant);
- description of activities that relieve or increase pain.
Based on the above information, along with the patient's history, physical examination, and diagnostic tests, the specialist will be able to pinpoint the cause of leg pain and treatment options.
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