What can I do about a sciatic nerve or numbness in my leg?

Question

I've been having this numbness in my front leg for quite some time. It gets worse when I am in a sitting or standing position. Could I get permanent nerve damage from this? What should I do about this? TIA for any help!

Answer 1

I'd go to an orthopedic specialist - they can figure out what is wrong and if necessary send you for an MRI (someone suggested an Xray, but if it is indeed sciatica, an Xray won't help as disks won't show up). A chiropractor will try to treat you but it may not be the treatment you need - chiroprators are not MDs and I wouldn't risk further injury or aggravation by going to someone who may not be qualified to deal with it. Trust me, I have had back problems for 20 years, finally fixed after two surgeries. You DON'T want it to get worse if it is, in fact a disk problem. That said, most sciatica goes down the backs of your legs. Do get it checked out.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

The sciatic nerve has many branches and from the sound of it, it seems to be more of a dermatomal distribution than a specific nerve being compressed.
It sounds like you could have a nerve root compression at the spinal exit level. Likely L5 level. It is worse after sitting due to an increased discal pressure in any sitting position. This could mean that you have a slipped disc which has protruded laterally to compress on the nerve root.
See a specialist, get some scans. If you let the condition progress for too long, the nerve could die and you will not feel anything even after the compression is released.

Answer 4

Ok, here's my situation and what I did to remedy it.

Last summer, I took a nasty spill in the woods hiking waterfalls without a path. Ever since that time, whenever I fell, it was always on the same side. About 2 months ago, I woke up and couldn't stand up straight, so I called my doctor. After seeing him and NOT a chiropractor, he sent me for an MRI. If you have any problems in your back, consult with your doctor first before heading off to a chiropractor. My pain started slightly above the right buttock and worked its way down to the back of my right knee. The pins and needles were from my right knee down to my toes.

My MRI revealed I had a herniated disk, L5-S1. I was sent to a orthopaedic specialist at the end of January. The disk was irritating my sciatic nerve (sciatica) and I had 3 options.

A.) Let it go. Some things get better on their own and the body's way of healing can work wonders, however, they give that a 6-8 week time frame from the onset of the pain. I was 6 weeks in and couldn't stand up straight for the first several minutes after waking up. I also couldn't laugh too hard, sneeze, cough, amongst other things because of the pain.

B.) Pain management + Physical Therapy. I would learn how to deal with the pain, getting treatments while I was still semi-conscious, all the while prolonging the problem, hoping for a better solution.

C.) Surgery. They would perform an outpatient procedure called a microdiscectomy. The surgery would last between 45 minutes to an hour, I would be in recovery for about 3 hours and released the same day. I am including a link for this topic. It's a minimally invasive procedure with an incision about 2-3 inches.

http://www.spine-health.com/topics/surg/overview/lumbar/lumb03.html

I opted for C, I knew all along, I want to get back into the woods and get hiking again. I will tell you this much, aside from the stockings you have to wear to stop the blood from clotting, it was pain free. The stockings are just a pain in the .. yea... I had the surgery on the second of February. I can walk fine, cough, laugh, everything.. normally. The only issue I have currently is the spot is still tender and when I wake up, I kick my legs to pull my body up. That's when I am in pain because my body isn't allowing me to use that portion of my body yet while it's healing.

Now, if this is the course you decide to take, I know that I am different than most people, but I returned to work 2 days following the procedure (no work on the weekend). You can milk it for 3-6 weeks, but that doesn't pay my bills. I will advise you to adhere to the lifting restrictions. I am a work-a-holic and am constantly trying to do things at work. I'm also a supervisor so I have people to do the jobs for me. My restrictions are 5-10 pounds for a while. It's tough, especially when I was just out shoveling snow earlier. Baby scoops, but it got done.

If you get nothing else out of this, consult your doctor before consulting a chiropractor. If there is a herniated disk and it is not checked or known, you can do irreversible damage. If you're in Pennsylvania, I recommend Orthopaedic Associates of Allentown.

Answer 5

Your symptoms indicate that it is the beginning of sciatic pain.Very intense pain in buttocks area and along the sciatic nerve, tingling and numbness; Muscle weakness affecting walking are the symptoms. The most safe treatment is the ayurvedic way. Take few leaves of HARSHRINGAR leaves.This has white flowers with orange base and bloom in Sep to end of October in India. Wash the leaves ( about 12),cut them finely with scissors or a sharp knife Take a cup of water and the cut leaves to it and boil till the liquid becomes one quarter of what you had taken.Filter the yellow liquid and sip it hot. Repeat it for a month and the sciatic pain is gone.

Answer 6

You should probably see a doctor. I had the same thing and it was from a herniated disc in my back that was pressing against my sciatic nerve and causing the numbness and pain. I had to go through physical therapy but it went away. I can't do anything about the herniated disc but doing daily exercises helped tremendously. Go to a Sports doctor if you can.

Answer 7

How long has this been going on for? What part of your leg is affected exactly? Is there tingling, sharpness, pain, etc? This could be an indication of a form of neuropathy which can be caused by many different factors. I have peroneal neuropathy, which affects my right leg, from my toes all the way up to my calf. I also experienced a "foot drop" which is exactly how it sounds. My foot pointed downward and there was no way to flex it or move it. I had to wear an AFO leg brace to help. See your family doctor, then they will probably refer you to a neurologist, and refer for you to have some nerve testing done.

Answer 8

Do some serious stretching on mat in floor.. This will loosen up and hopefully realign your spine with regular stretching . Sleep with pillows under legs to relieve the pressure on spine .I have had this condition for years . Take anti-inflammatory ie Motrin Advil or ibuprofen or aleve. Sound's like the nerve is pinching in lower lumbars. This goes around to front of your leg .. Physical Therapy , acupuncture works well too ..Alternate ice packs and heating pads at 20 minute intervals. Finally, Go to doctor of course.. Take care ! I 've been there and go there too often.

Answer 9

You possibly have damage to one or more of your low back discs.Get an x-ray to find out how serious it is.You may have to get re trained for a different job.I still have numbness down my left leg from a meat accident in 2001.Just try not to bend over much, as this aggrevates it,and try not to lift much because this could be serious for you.

Answer 10

See a chiropractor. Sciatica is usually from a pinched nerve or a bone pressing against the nerve. They can fix it for you by putting the bone that is out of place back where it belongs without surgery. I know, I had it happen to me too, only it hurt so bad I could hardly walk.