Nearly 65 million Americans report having recent back pain, a problem that is one of the top causes of disability in our country.
While back pain is tricky enough to deal with, the issue isn’t just confined to the back for millions of people. Instead, symptoms follow spinal nerves down into the lower extremities — the buttocks and legs — creating a bigger and more challenging problem.
As specialists in pain management and back pain, the team here at Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas is very familiar with this common complaint. Here’s what we want you to know about this condition, called lumbar radiculopathy.
While your spine plays a key role in providing foundational support for your body, it’s also the main passageway that connects your central nervous system to your peripheral nervous system.
Pairs of spinal nerves and roots — 31 of them — exit your spine between each vertebra. Included in this count are 5 lumbar pairs of nerve roots and 5 sacral pairs.
If you have an issue in your spine that entraps or irritates one or more of these spinal nerves, you can develop local pain, as well as symptoms that radiate down the length of the nerve, or radiculopathy.
While we refer to the radiating symptoms as pain, more often than not, what you feel in your buttock and leg can be numbness and tingling. Or, you might experience some weakness in your leg. Also note that these symptoms typically only affect one side and not both legs.
Many conditions can lead to lumbar radiculopathy. The main culprits include:
Given the many different roads to lumbar radiculopathy, it should come as no surprise that 3% to 5% of the general population is believed to experience this condition.
If you’re experiencing shooting pain in your leg, or you’ve got numbness and tingling that’s traveling down into your buttock and leg, the good news is that we can help you find relief.
First, we spend some time figuring out what’s compressing your nerve, because this will influence our treatment recommendations. For example, if it comes down to the most common cause of lumbar radiculopathy — herniated discs and sciatica — we might recommend interventional spine injections, rest, and physical therapy.
If you have a more serious condition, such as degenerative disc disease or progressive lumbar spinal stenosis, we will try conservative treatments first, but you might be a good candidate for a minimally invasive surgical procedure.
But, we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. Let’s stop here so that you can take the most important step toward relief — scheduling an appointment with us. To get that ball rolling, please call or message us today at one of our offices in Waco, Arlington, Wichita Falls, and Fort Worth, Texas.
