This kind of pain interferes not just to live but even to walk. How is it that pain arising in the back, able to penetrate into the limb and cause lameness? Although the source is much higher, we feel its impact at that distance: back is sore, but numb and drag his feet. How the back pain radiates to leg?
Causes radiating pain in the legs can be draft, low back pain, hernia, tumors and stress
This is due to a reflex nervous nature of pain, its ability to spread across the entire length of the nerve emerging from the spinal cord. If this nerve somewhere is irritated, there is a distant response.
One of the possible causes of foot pain can be inflammation of the sciatic nerve
In the lumbosacral plexus is the nerve fibers emerging from the vertebrae l4, L5 and S1 — S3. This plexus is called the sciatic nerve. From the comfort of your piriformis, it literally splits at the thigh and ankle muscles and joints, being the most powerful and longest nerve in the human body.
Sciatica responds thus in the lower extremities. Pain appeared in the lower back to the legs, called lumbosciatica. Usually suffers (is ill or pulls) one foot on the side of the nerve, but it happens and two-way reaction in which both feet hurt.
The pain is not limited to, patient stalking and other unpleasant feelings:
- Kolyat feet, lose sensitivity, pulling or numb
If the nerve is affected at the level of the sacrum, through the muscles of the buttocks and thighs, pain syndrome from the sacrum and up to the foot is called sciatica.
Very often people feel pain in back and leg in two different categories and not see the root cause. "I have a pain in my right knee, numb foot. I can't come on foot and climb the stairs" — they describe in detail the condition of their limbs, forgetting about the pain in the back, which all preceded it. Surprised also, "incompetence" of doctors who, instead of treating knee osteoarthritis, all of a sudden begin to engage the spine.
But it is the spine, with its complex nervous, muscular-ligament and the vascular system is the root cause of sciatica.
Why get sick, pull and numb feet
- Normal draft can be a cause of lumbago in the lower back, radiating to leg. To the same consequences that can result from sitting on cold surface swimming in cold water, and similar reasons. All of them can be grouped under the term "hypothermia"
- Osteochondrosis — dystrophic degenerative process in the lumbosacral region also periodically leads to sharp pain, radiating to limbs. The deformation of the disc touching the nerve fibers and causing inflammation
- The formation of protrusion and herniated discs can cause pain syndrome is very high intensity, if it is compressed nerve. Pain impulse is distributed on the area of innervation with the speed of the current. I wonder what the feeling on the affected side also resemble the symptoms of a weak current: Tingling, burning, crawling skin crawling, feeling cold. These symptoms are called paresthesia. If the legs no longer hurt, and just numb, it could mean that because long-term compression of nerve fibers, they began atrophic processes
- Other diseases (spondylitis, spondylosis, spondylolisthesis) leads to limitation and stagnation in the bone tissues, muscles, nerves and blood vessels, which stimulates inflammatory processes
- Spinal tumors and tuberculosis can also cause inflammation of the sciatic nerve and the feeling that pulls and numb in the extremities
- Stress is not a harmless phenomenon and never goes unnoticed, especially where nerves are involved
Classification of the pain syndrome of the back and legs
In its origin all kinds of back pain radiating to limbs, can be roughly defined in three main groups:
- The first group is associated with a neuroreflex nature of the pain syndrome and pathological processes in the spine.
Here you can put all of DDP (degenerative processes), because of which violated all the metabolic processes in tissues and their diet, and infectious, inflammatory diseases and congenital dysplasia of the spine. The threat to the nerve fibers here is twofold:
- They are subjected to direct mechanical effects of parts of the spine
- Degenerative changes begin to occur in nerve fibers
- The second group is associated with muscle dysfunction in the back or legs. Causes it to turn different. This:
- Scoliosis of the spine, where it formed a persistent asymmetry of muscle groups, located on both sides of the arc
- Increased load on certain muscles as a result of awkward postures or physical stress
- Muscle myositis caused by hypothermia, infectious processes or congenital abnormalities
- Leg pain often occurs at very banal reason — walking in high heels Cause foot pain can be uncomfortable shoes with high heels
- Autonomic dysfunction — the third kind of the origin of sciatica
Vegetative-visceral disorders — this is a huge symptom, which includes all disorders in the internal organs and body systems related to impaired adjustment of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
The autonomic system is closely connected with the Central principle of direct and feedback:
- Failures in the Central nervous system, local damage to spinal nerves and fibers give rise to irregularities in the VNS
- Autonomic disorders include the response of the nerve Central nervous system, in the area of innervation of which they are
Especially often problems with the feet can occur when vegetative-vascular disorders in the area of the lumbosacral spine. Poor blood supply can lead to pain in the back and limbs, muscular dystrophy of the legs.
Summarizing the above, we can conclude:
To find out why sick, pull and numb legs because of the pain originated in the back, only after a thorough diagnosis:
- Anamnesis
- X-ray, CT and magnetic resonance imaging of spine
- Angiography of the
- Laboratory studies, etc.
The treatment of back pain and legs
Treatment should be fully adequate to the causes of the disease.
- If the pain generated by the MDC, it is:
- Painkillers and anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs)
- Traction techniques (stretching of the spine by exhaust devices)
- Chiropractic and acupuncture
- The application of low frequency currents, magnetic therapy and other physiotherapy methods hardware
- Exercises physical therapy
- With muscular dysfunction caused by scoliosis, additionally apply:
- Special corrective exercises
- The wearing of corsets
- Treatment of myositis successfully carried out:
- Irritating ointments (if myositis is not caused by infection)
- Massage, physical therapy
- In some cases, you may need antibiotic therapy
- With dystonia prescribed complex treatment:
- Vasodilators
- Angioprotectors
- Vitamins and stimulators of metabolic processes
- Sedatives sedatives
Treatment reflect pain is always a long process, as they usually occur in chronic long-standing diseases that affect the human nervous system
Therefore, if a backache, try to immediately determine the cause of the pain and start the treatment without waiting for the moment when you start to hurt, go numb or pull your feet.
If the pain radiates to the leg, first think about lumbago (sciatica) or sciatica. Especially if your fingers go numb and my leg aches. Most often the case. And few people remember that such symptoms can be and at other diseases, such as acute appendicitis.
Reasons
- The most common cause is pathology of the spine (osteochondrosis, scoliosis, radiculitis, sciatica, disc herniation, spondylitis, spondylolisthesis and other diseases of degenerative nature, as well as post-traumatic complications, tumours and infection);
- The pathology of the organs of the lower abdomen (kidney stones, cystitis, oophoritis, adhesions, inguinal hernia, appendicitis, etc.).
Important: About rare diseases, leading to the emergence of the described syndrome, should not be forgotten.
Pathology of bone and muscle structures
Pain in the lower back, associated with disease of the spine and extending to the lower limb, called lumbosciatica.
Degenerative process in the lumbar spine the pain is often develops due to the compression of a nerve root and radiates to the lower limb on the main nerve of the lumbosacral plexus, the sciatic, which is divided into fibular and tibial. The latter gives the popliteal fossa rise to nerves of the lower leg.
Compression of nerve roots occurs when the destruction of intervertebral cartilage on the background of degenerative reactions. This decreases the distance between adjacent vertebrae and, consequently, be less openings for the spinal nerve roots. When herniated, they get annoyed directly by the protrusion of the hernia, in tumors, abnormal tissue growths, while spondylosis is bony overgrowths, called osteophytes.
On the background of pathological process is always evolving inflammatory reaction in the form of edema and dysfunction of the surrounding tissues, worsening the blood circulation of the affected area, are inhibited normal metabolism. Resulting increased muscle tone in the area of innervation of the roots of the disadvantaged, which leads to a strengthening of pain.
The development of changes in the spine usually marked with the end of the process of ossification approximately 25 years and is considered a normal physiological phenomenon. This early aging bone and cartilage structures can be suspended, if you follow the principles of proper nutrition and strengthen the back muscles with special exercises.
The different nature of the pain syndrome
Diseases of the spine occur in the following types of sciatica:
- Musculo-tonic — manifested a strong pungent spasm, while developing compensatory curvature of the spine, movement in the lower back limited;
- Autonomic-vascular — pain burning in nature accompanied by a feeling of numbness in the foot, you may receive a feeling of coldness or heat in the limb, especially when you try to change the position of the body. So responsive vascular system in pathological process;
- Neurodystrophic — evolving burning spasms mainly at night, sometimes the skin above the pathological foci thinner.
Important: the Most common pain syndrome is mixed. One form of sciatica in its pure form is rare.
Clinical manifestations of some diseases of the spine
- When osteoarthritis pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain occurs after sudden movements or lifting heavy weights. Often, it is numb both feet are aching in the area of the hip joints, and movement in the lower back is severely restricted.
Chronic pain is almost a constant companion of life to which almost used, as the lucid interval is very small. Thus pulls in the lumbar region and along the branches of the sciatic nerve.
- When herniated, localized in the lumbar spine, pain may not be at all, but disturbed function of pelvic organs: often pulls "pee in toilet", can develop incontinence, it is noted in the legs tingling and "pins and needles".
With the development of pain syndrome may develop paralysis of the lower limbs caused by a complete compression of the motor rootlets. But more to such severe consequences of pathological process did not get it.
- With sciatica lumbago in the lower back radiates to the leg, thus there is lameness, muscle aches and pulls. Can decrease sensitivity at the posterolateral surface of the leg and on the back side of the foot. Relief comes in the supine position, the back should be relaxed. Sometimes the pain syndrome is attenuated in "the fetal position".
Pathology of internal organs
Often lower back pain radiating to the leg, are a manifestation of diseases of internal organs. Limb while this numbs, the nerve pull, and the pain may also be given in the groin.
- Kidney stones can manifest described the syndrome when the stone goes through the ureter;
- And adhesive disease nerves can put pressure spikes;
- Salpingoophoritis, uterine fibroids, endometriosis also manifest as discomfort in the lumbosacral segment and the leg on the affected side;
- Acute appendicitis with atypical location of the Appendix (retroperitoneal on the posterior surface of the cecum) is pulling pain in right lumbar region, which shoots down my right leg. If in the supine position to try to lift the straight right leg, she involuntarily bent and unfold outwards.
These phenomena are explained by the peculiarities of the innervation of the pelvic organs and legs.