Contents
Lower back pain radiating to the leg – a typical manifestation of lumboishalgia. This disease is very serious and is accompanied by severe consequences, so it is not recommended to start it and self-medicate. Without the correct, complete course of treatment, the pain, as a rule, does not go away and only intensifies over time.
Causes of lower back pain radiating to the legs
Pain in the lumbar region, radiating to both legs or more often to only one, is a typical symptom of lumbar ischialgia that develops after a sharp or unusually heavy physical exertion, as a result of hypothermia. The same symptomatology is characteristic of radiculitis caused by a birth defect, osteochondrosis, or anomalies in the development of the bone skeleton. The growth of bone tissue leads to deformation of adjacent tissues and causes a severe attack of pain. The impetus for the beginning of the inflammatory process is pathological damage to the nerve endings of the intervertebral hernia.
Clinical manifestations of lower back pain radiating to the legs
The clinical picture is characterized by diversity – pain can be mild or pronounced, aching, burning, squeezing, tearing or shooting. It occurs in most cases abruptly, more often on one side, it is especially acutely felt in the gluteal or hip region, then it passes to the leg.
This condition can last quite a long time, without treatment it will not go away on its own, the process will only worsen, accompanied by vegetative-vascular or neurodystrophic manifestations. As a result, the motor function of the limbs is disturbed, numbness is felt.
A sharp spasm of the muscles of the lower back leads to a limitation of motor function in the lumbar region and is classified as a muscular-tonic form. Numbness in combination with burning pain is typical for vegetative-vascular manifestations.
The appearance of the diseased limb is different from the healthy one; in the area of the foot, it will look more pale. If you touch it, it will be cold to the touch due to the increased vascular tone. The patient may experience a feeling of heat or chilliness. Sharp pain prevents the patient from getting up. For neurodystrophy is characterized by burning pain, worse at night. Very often observed phenomena of dystrophy in the form of thinning of the skin.
Lumboishalgia often combines all forms of the disease. It can last for a very long time, in some cases even for years, alternating with periods of relapse and remission. Ishalgia is another disease of a neurological nature, according to the clinical picture, it is very similar to lumbar ischialgia, the pain covers the buttocks and thigh area, radiating to the ankle area.
Radiculitis of the lumbosacral spine is often a consequence of osteochondrosis, or it is preceded by attacks of lumbago, sciatica. The mechanical pressure of the prolapsed intervertebral disc on the nerve roots causes acute pain attacks. Blood circulation is disturbed, edema appears and the inflammatory process begins.
Radicular pains are usually felt in the lower half of the back and are dull, pronounced, aching, shooting, tearing. A provoking factor can be a heavy lifting, awkward movement, a sharp tilt or turn of the body, bruises.
An attack of pain begins unexpectedly sharply in one side of the lower back, very rarely on both sides at once, even more rarely in the buttock or in the region of the hip joint. As a rule, after about a week, the pain passes to the leg and it becomes difficult for the patient to straighten it. The patient tries to avoid stress on the affected limb and usually the leg is in a half-bent position, either forward or to the side.
In the prone position, the “fetal” position helps to significantly reduce pain – lying on a healthy side, you need to press the diseased limb to the stomach. If the process covers both legs, you can help the patient by advising to lie on his back, press his legs to his stomach. A sharp pain will not allow you to turn on your stomach.
Any careless movement, and when the process is running, any movement causes unbearable pain. Sometimes patients experience insomnia against the background of pain. Often there is a disorder of pain sensitivity, unpleasant sensations of a phantom nature appear in the legs.
Treatment of lower back pain radiating to the legs
As practice shows, pain in the lumbar region with irradiation to the leg often relapses, so the treatment must be strictly followed by the doctor’s prescriptions. First aid – taking an anesthetic drug. But we should not forget that in order to remove the cause and avoid the recurrence of the disease, you should immediately contact a specialist and complete the full course of recommended therapy. In addition, long-term use of chondroprotectors is shown, which contribute to the health of the joints, bones and spine.