Diagnosed herniations, but do you understand the leg raises?

Question

I have been diagnosed with a herniation at L4-5 and L5-S1. When the dr. did a leg raise on my right leg, the pain went down my left leg, when he raised my left leg, the pain went down my right side. Is this normal? Or does the pain normally go down the side that is raised. Also a new development, I can no longer go up on my toes. Does this mean my herniations got worse? It's not because of pain, but because I am all of a sudden to weak to do so.

Answer 1

You will understand the leg raise if you look up on "sciatica" - it's a nerve that's under pressure.

In fact you can get rid of herniated discs, although the method is not scientifically renowned yet:

Go for a manual one-time treatment called Atlasprofilax. Your spine will be set straight the first time in your life and the pressure on the discs will be distributed much better so they may recover within some weeks or months.

And it's really worth travelling far - at present, the treatment is available in California and Europe only, costing around 200 Dollars. Good luck!

Answer 2

I have the same condition as you and have had the same type of tests at the neurosurgeon's.
The leg raises and tippy-toe test are designed to evaluate the degree of nerve function, as nerve damage and herniated discs tend to go hand in hand. The sciatic nerve runs along the spine and is often "pinched" when a herniation occurs.The pain running down into the legs,weakness, and tingling in feet are all symptoms of nerve compression.
If you haven't already, your doctor is probably going to have you do an EMG. That test will determine exactly what amount of damage your nerve has sustained.

Answer 3

The test is called "well leg raising test of Fajersztajn." This test is indicative of a rather large disc protrusion, usually medial to the nerve root. Since you have disc protrusions on opposite sides, that would explain why both legs cause problems into the opposite leg.