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What Causes Severe Pain In The Legs?
I am a 66 yo female. About 10 days ago, while I was sitting down I had a sudden, severe pain shoot down my leg from my left hip to above the knee . It only lasted about 30 seconds. Today it happened again while I was sitting down. This time it lasted about 90 seconds and was extremely severe, bringing me to tears. It started on my left side right below the waist, then went downward and curved to the front of my leg, ending above the knee. My first thought was sciatica, but I didn t think that was in the front of the leg. For the last month or so I have been having paresthesia in my toes, particularly on the left. I saw my doctor for a check-up last week and he said it was probably a nerve problem and if it got worse, I would need testing. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Tue, 4 Oct 2016
Hello.
Your doctor is right, it does seem to be a nerve problem. What you describe is nerve root pain - occurring due to pressure over the nerve root as it exits out of the spine. The causes are many - most commonly due to a degenerate vertebral disc or a prolapsed intervertebral disc.
Since the pain has started occurring more frequently now and for a longer duration, I suggest you get it examined soon. Basic investigations like an Xray of the spine and an MRI of the same region would be helpful in establishing the exact cause. According to the dermatomal distribution, the problem area in your case seems to be L4-5.
Once the cause is ascertained, treatment will be accordingly. Surgery may be required in severe cases.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
Your doctor is right, it does seem to be a nerve problem. What you describe is nerve root pain - occurring due to pressure over the nerve root as it exits out of the spine. The causes are many - most commonly due to a degenerate vertebral disc or a prolapsed intervertebral disc.
Since the pain has started occurring more frequently now and for a longer duration, I suggest you get it examined soon. Basic investigations like an Xray of the spine and an MRI of the same region would be helpful in establishing the exact cause. According to the dermatomal distribution, the problem area in your case seems to be L4-5.
Once the cause is ascertained, treatment will be accordingly. Surgery may be required in severe cases.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
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