Leg Pain Causes

Have leg pain? It could be a pinched nerve

You know the feeling all too well. After sitting for a period of time, you go to get up and you feel a deep, boring, aching sensation in the front of your thigh that extends to your knee. Sometimes you can even feel pain on the inside of your knee or on the side of your hip. You wonder to yourself, “Am I getting old? Do I have a problem with my hip? Is there a knee problem going on here? Did I pull a muscle in my leg? Is this the “sciatica” many people talk about?”

Leg pain, especially in the thigh or calf, is often caused by a pinched nerve in your back. Many people call any pain in the leg “sciatica,” but actually sciatica is only one specific type of leg pain and is caused when the sciatic nerve is irritated. Other leg pains may be caused when other nerves in the legs are irritated, and irritation usually starts in the back. When a “pinched nerve” causes leg pain, often there is no back pain so people don’t associate the problem with their backs.

Dr. Joseph Murphy, Director of the Suburban Chiropractic Center explains, “There are many causes of leg pain. Not all problems are caused by a pinched nerve and not all pinched nerves originate from problems in the back, however, a great majority of them do.”

Murphy continues: “Only pinching of the sciatic nerve causes sciatica and that pain is generally in the back portion of the leg. Pinching of other nerves in the leg can cause pain in other areas, for instance, often pain in the front of the thigh or pain towards the inside of the knee is caused by irritation of the femoral nerve. Many people find they have pain in their hip and their knee and think they have a problem in the hip or knee joint. After examination, it turns out that they actually have some pinching of their femoral nerve.”

Not all leg pain is caused by pinched nerves but a great majority is. How do you find out whether your leg pain is being caused by a pinched nerve? Dr. Murphy again explains, “The only way to find out the true cause of your leg pain is to have a thorough examination such as the type you get at the Suburban Chiropractic Center. A detailed case information and history as well as an orthopedic and neurological exam is performed to determine the cause of your leg pain.”

He concludes: “If the leg pain is caused by a pinched nerve, it can often be treated successfully with conservative chiropractic care and other holistic physical medicine measures. Only a small minority of cases require more drastic intervention such as surgery. Those that do are referred to the appropriate specialist.

Most Common Leg Pain Causes

Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, gout and diabetes can initiate regular or periodic symptoms. Acute gout attack can initiate pain in the knee or joints. Pain can be so severe it can be crippling sometimes. This often happens when the uric acid crystals builds up in the joint. Movement then results to severe leg pain. Advanced diabetes can be a cause too of leg pain. Uncheck diabetes can cause gradual damage of peripheral nerves.

Spinal Conditions DVT or Deep Venous Thrombosis is a clot in a large vein in the lower leg or thigh that prevents blood flow resulting to swelling and pain. This leg pain is dangerous because there is a risk that the clot will break off into small pieces and drift into the bloodstream where in turn can block blood vessels in the heart or the brain.