Back Leg Pain – Symptoms and Treatments
When you experience back leg pain, the pain may be in the back of your leg, but could originate in your lower back. Some people have back leg pain that’s sporadic, and may be minor and simply annoying, or it could be so severe that it interferes with your daily routine. Some back leg pain may be a dull ache, but with other people it can be a constant throbbing or sharp pain. Some people report symptoms including a pins and needles sensation in the legs which can go all the way down to the feet.
When you have back leg pain and describe the symptoms to your doctor, you will likely have your lower back examined to find out if the source of the back leg pain originates in the lower back. When the pain is severe, it can limit your mobility and even day to day activities. The back leg pain could originate with the sciatic nerve in the lower back, but only a doctor can diagnose the problem. Symptoms may include pain with a burning sensation. The pain may feel as though it is radiating down the leg, and is common when the sciatic nerve is irritated.
Additional symptoms with back leg pain may include numbness or tingling, which is referred to as pins and needles. This type of back leg pain can be serious since you can lose all sensation in your leg and foot. When the back leg pain is due to a lower back problem that hasn’t been diagnosed, the pain can be constant and very severe. Heaviness or weakness may be a complaint when experiencing this type of pain. Continuous pain may also be one of the symptoms. This type of pain may also be felt in the buttock, even if the problem doesn’t originate in that area. This is sometimes associated with sciatica problems and may be referred to as nerve pain.
Among the causes of back leg pain is lumbar degenerative disc disease. When the discs in the back get dehydrated, back leg pain and pain in the lower back are common problems. Other causes of back leg pain may be herniated discs in the back or lumbar spinal stenosis. When your doctor is able to make an accurate diagnosis of the pain, treatments can be prescribed to alleviate the pain and allow you to move around much easier. In many cases, your general practitioner may refer you to an arthritis specialist who can more accurately diagnose the problem so it can be treated effectively
