Knee Pain — Pain Specialists Australia

Knee pain and knee injuries are common and affects people of all ages.

Knee joint problems are common. The joint is vulnerable to injury and pain because it takes the bodies full weight and extra force with running and jumping. Problems with the knee can affect all aspects of life from walking to driving a car and even working productively.

Many people experience some type of knee pain. These causes are usually minor like a strain or sprain. In these instances the knee pain is mild and is relieved within a few days. Sometimes, knee pain is caused by more serious injuries like from a fall, or from injuries through sports like football, netball and skiing. These might require a doctor or specialist medical care.

Knee pain can also be related to problems elsewhere in the body like the spine. Sometimes more than one cause for the pain may occur at the same time, which can then make assessing and managing knee pain more complex.

KNEE PAIN SYMPTOMS

Knee pain can occur suddenly or it can occur slowly. The pain might appear immediately after an injury or the onset of symptoms can be delayed.

Symptoms may include a sharp or dull pain, sometimes radiating down or up the leg, stiffness, the knee swelling, and weakness and or inability to bend or straighten the leg fully. There may be popping or crunching noises, and there may be tingling, numbness, pins and needles. Sometimes people can be unwell if there is a more serious cause like an infection or fracture.

KNEE PAIN CAUSES

When knee experts make an assessment a few things need to be considered, because pain in the knee could be caused by a number of problems in or around the knee and sometimes even from more distant sites like the hip or spine.

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There are many possible causes of knee pain:

• The knee joint can become inflamed and swollen (arthritis), which can cause stiffness and pain. Sometimes the pain can be debilitating and long-lasting. Arthritis in the knee is usually from ‘wear and tear’, (osteoarthritis) but other types of arthritis can affect the knee joint, like rheumatoid arthritis and gout (uric acid crystal buildup), and pseudo-gout (calcium crystal buildup). More serious problems causing knee joint pain may include fractures and infection (septic arthritis).

• Myofascial pain occurs because of problems with the surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons of the knee. The muscles may develop discrete little tight knots (taut bands) that are called myo-fascial trigger points. Trigger points are hyperirritable spots in the covering (fascia) surrounding muscle and can be very painful and quite debilitating. When a trigger point is touched or examined, it can cause excruciating pain in and around the area.

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury: the ACL can tear with some sports like football, basketball and skiing.

• Meniscus: the meniscus is the tough, soft cartilage that acts as the shock absorber of the knee. It is similar to the discs within the spine. The meniscus can tear in some circumstances like in a sudden knee twist.

• Patellar tendonitis: pain in the patella tendon can occur when the tendon of the kneecap becomes swollen and inflamed. Sometimes the patella can dislocate.

• Knee Bursitis: knee inflammation can occur in the small sacs of fluid that cushion the knee.

• Referred pain is where pain in one part of the body can be felt in another part of the body that is nearby. This occurs when different parts of the body share the same nerves to send signals to the spine and brain. Problems in the hips or feet can be felt as pain in the hip.

• Nerve pain: sometimes neurological problems can cause knee pain. Neurological causes might include shingles (zoster), post herpetic neuralgia, or meralgia paraesthetica.

• Spinal problems like facet joint arthritis or disc prolapses can both contribute to spinal nerves being compressed where they leave the spinal column (pinched nerves). This compression condition is called lumbar foraminal stenosis and can cause radiating pain anywhere down into the leg, including the knee.

• Sensitisation:

  • Sometimes a problem in the nervous system called sensitisation can occur. This is when the pain, usually a nerve pain, seems to be spreading up into the body and or down into the leg, or even into the other side of the body. People with sensitisation can even have sensitive skin and even light touch using a brush can be intensely painful.

• Post-surgical pain:

  • After an operation or knee surgery, pain can sometimes persist even after the tissue has had sufficient time to heal. This can occur in up to 25% of all surgeries and sometimes the persistent pain can be intolerable and debilitating. Post-surgical pain can be caused by almost any type of operation, including knee replacement or arthroscopy. The pain can be caused by many things, including nerve injury or scarring, ongoing inflammation or infection, or muscle weakness and stiffness. This is a complex pain condition and should be assessed and managed by pain specialist physicians in conjunction with the operating surgeons.

• Serious causes of knee pain may include severe infections of the joint (septic arthritis).

Chronic knee pain treatment is recommended when the pain has been present for longer than 3 months and most treatments that have been tried have not helped. Treatment depends on what is causing the pain and should be delivered by pain specialists physicians and their team of experts.

Contact us to find out what’s causing your pain.

WHO GETS KNEE PAIN?

Anyone can get knee pain and it can occur at any age, although some people are more likely to develop knee pain. There are a few risk factors that might make the development of knee pain more likely:

• Older age

• Lack of exercise and low fitness level

• Being overweight

• Certain jobs or activities that require bending, heavy lifting, repetitive twisting of the knee or certain sports like football, netball, skiing.

HOW DO I GET A KNEE PAIN DIAGNOSIS?

Knee pain is complex and should be assessed by a medical professional or pain specialist who will take the time to understand the pain story and perform a physical examination before setting forward a treatment plan.

In some circumstances imaging tests may be required. This could be an X-ray, CT scan, MRI scan, bone scan or ultrasound.

Once a knee pain diagnosis is made, the medical professional or pain specialist will determine the best treatment.  

Book an appointment to have a Pain Specialist make a knee pain diagnosis

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WHAT KNEE PAIN TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE? 

Treatment of the knee depends on whether the pain is acute (meaning it only occurred recently, i.e., days or weeks ago), or chronic (meaning it has been present for more than 2-3 months).

ACUTE KNEE PAIN TREATMENT

• Simple treatments like hot or cold packs, physical activity, exercise and physical therapy.

• Pain medications like anti-inflammatories and anti-spasm medications to provide pain relief.

If pain is long lasting (chronic pain), debilitating and has not been responding to treatments an assessment should be made by a pain management specialist, who can assess and treat most types of chronic pain.

CHRONIC KNEE PAIN TREATMENT

Through years of experience, we’ve figured out that good and long-lasting chronic knee pain relief doesn’t work unless all bases are covered.

The best knee pain management combines pain-reducing treatments with selected therapies like physical and psychological rehabilitation treatment.

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TYPES OF TREATMENT

• Medications to reduce knee pain. These may be simple over the counter medications or can be medications prescribed by your pain specialist. Medications might include muscle relaxants or anti-neuropathic (nerve pain) medications. Sometimes analgesic compound creams are used to ease pain.

• Pain interventions like injections for knee pain can be used to target, diagnose and manage chronic pain caused by muscle, joint and nerve pain. Interventional therapies include nerve blocks (genicular nerves, infrapatellar nerve, lumbar nerve roots) radiofrequency ablation (RFA), pulsed radiofrequency (PRF), epidural and nerve root steroid injections.

• Some of these therapies can be focused on various structures that might be causing or making the pain worse like the knee joint, the infrapatellar bursae, the spinal nerve roots, the genicular nerves and other nerves around the knee. Sympathetic blocks can also be performed. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP Injections) can also be used in some locations around this area.

• Nerve stimulation or neuromodulation techniques: advanced pain reduction strategies may include spinal cord stimulation for severe knee pain. Some forms of spinal cord stimulation are high frequency stimulation (HF10), tonic stimulation, multi-waveform stimulation, burst DR stimulation and DRG stimulation.

• Surgery is generally recommended when tests show structural changes, which need corrective surgery. When other therapies fail, surgery may be considered an option to relieve pain caused by serious musculoskeletal injuries or nerve compression. These are typically performed by an orthopaedic surgeon. Types of surgery might include reconstruction surgery and/or stabilisation surgery or joint replacement.

• Rehabilitation: most types of chronic pain treatment should be managed alongside some form of specialist rehabilitation. This is when the best results occur.

HOW DO I GET KNEE PAIN RELIEF? 

Knee pain is best initially assessed by a general practitioner (GP). They will make an assessment and make sure there are no warning signs for something serious. If they suspect something more serious is causing knee pain, they may do some scans or blood tests and send you to see a pain specialist, neurosurgeon or spinal surgeon.

If the knee pain is mild or improving, GPs may:

If the knee pain persists or returns GPs may:

• Use stronger pain medications

• Suggest management by an expert pain physiotherapist (LINK TO OUR PHYSIOS)

• Refer to a pain specialist physician to provide more comprehensive knee pain management using options like joint and nerve blocks, sympathetic blocks and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), pulsed radiofrequency or nerve stimulation and neuromodulation using spinal cord stimulation.

• Refer to an orthopaedic surgeon for an opinion.

Contact us to book an appointment with a Pain Specialist.

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WARNING SIGNS OF MORE SERIOUS KNEE PROBLEMS

In some instances, knee pain can indicate more serious problems. These problems might include, fractures, dislocations, infection, or severe nerve compression (pinched nerve).

• Fractures of the knee can be caused by a direct hit, fall or accident but sometimes can occur with minimal or no trauma. Spontaneous fractures usually occur in elderly people with osteoporosis or those who may be taking steroid medications that weaken the bone.

• A dislocated kneecap can occur when the triangular bone (patella) that covers the knee slips out of place, usually to the outside of the knee.

• Infections of the knee (septic arthritis) tend to occur if patients have a weakened immune system from any cause or medical condition. Sometimes infections of the knee can occur if there is an infection elsewhere in the body. People with knee infections usually feel unwell and can have sweats and a fever.

• Nerve compression: one type of compression condition is lumbar foraminal stenosis and can cause radiating pain anywhere down into the leg, which includes the knee. Another type of nerve compression is myelopathy, where there is a dangerous compression of the spinal cord in the neck. Myelopathy could cause symptoms that might include weakness or problems with coordination in the arms, hands, legs, or even feet.

Seek urgent and specialist medical advise if you:

• Are experiencing sudden, unrelenting, disabling and severe knee pain

• Were recently injured or fell.

• Are unable to walk on the knee

• Feel as if the knee is unstable or “gives out”

• Are unable to fully bend or straighten the knee

• See an obvious deformity in the knee

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Nerve Pain In Knee – Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

Have you ever experienced nerve pain in your knee? The pain may not always be there, but you cannot ignore it when it is there.

Why Does It Appear and How to Treat It?

Nerve pain in the knee can be very irritating and life-altering during normal activities as well as leisurely pursuits. Nerve pain in the knee can radiate from the lumbar spine, the pelvis, or the small nerves in the knee. It also can begin after surgery from surgical nerve irritation from the incision or can be the type of pain related to knee arthritis. At the Centeno-Schultz Clinic, we are experts in spine, pain management, and non-surgical orthopedics. We perform a thorough physical examination and musculoskeletal ultrasound of your knee to identify the root cause of your pain and how to treat it appropriately.

What Is Nerve Pain? How Does It Happen?

Nerve pain is typically described as a sensation of burning, tingling, electrical, or a sensation of numbness. Arthritis pain can be more grinding, clicking, popping, swelling, or knee meniscus and ligament issues would be a sensation of instability.

Symptoms of Nerve Pain

Symptoms of the character of nerve pain or neuropathic pain can be described as numbness, tingling, burning, itching, electrical sensations aggravated by certain positions on the nerve or the lumbar spine. A thorough physical examination by Centeno-Schultz Clinic board-certified physicians can help answer the question of whether the nerve pain in the knee is coming from the lumbar spine, peripheral nerves in the leg, or other diagnoses like knee arthritis, ACL laxity, or meniscus degeneration.

Nerve injuries in the knee are common after surgery, like total knee replacement, where the outside nerves get stretched. This can lead to weakness in the ankle commonly referred to as foot drop. There are also superficial sensory nerves that run on the inside and outside of the knee that can be irritated during pressure, certain clothing, knee braces, prior surgery or incisions, or very loose knees, like knock-kneed or bow-legged knees that lead to stretching of the nerves.

Nerve Pain in the Knee Radiating from the Lumbar Spine

This is typically termed Sciatica Syndrome, which is nerve pain going down the leg. Sciatica syndrome, more clearly defined, is typically from lumbar degenerative disc disease or lumbar disc herniation irritating the lumbar spinal nerve roots that refer to pain down the leg.

The nerves in the lumbar spine are numbered 1-5.  Each nerve has a specific role and area that it provides information to. It provides both sensation ( feeling)  and motor information to each area.  It is much like the service panel or fuse box in your home.  The top switch goes to the kitchen whereas the second one goes to the bedroom.  So too with the nerves in the lumbar spine.

In relation to knee nerve pain for example the L2 nerve root provides sensation to the groin and inside thigh above the knee.  L3 provides sensation to the anterior thigh. L4 nerve root irritation can go past the medial (side) and front of the knee towards the kneecap down to the inside of the shin.

There is research clarifying that patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease have lower functional outcomes after total knee replacement patients compared to patients without lumbar degeneration given the sensitivity of the lumbar nerve root. When the Lumbar 2-3 or 3-4 disc is degenerated or bulging, these discs can irritate the nerves that radiate pain to the knee, but also send signals back to the brain of knee pain even though the degeneration is coming from the lumbar spine.

Patellofemoral Stress Syndrome

Alternatively, when we have patellofemoral tracking instability where the kneecap moves laterally, or prior surgery called a lateral release, the superficial nerves around the kneecap can also radiate pain up to the spinal nerve roots and cause a sensation of nerve pain.

Peroneal Nerve Injury

The common peroneal nerve branches behind the knee and this could be irritated from any overuse activity, surgery, instability, or any compression on the outside of the knee. Typically, this will present as pain on the outside of the knee radiating towards the baby toe, the calf, and the lateral shin towards the lateral ankle.

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome also called failed back is a clinical condition in which patients who have undergone low back surgery continue to have pain and dysfunction.  Said another way the surgery that was intended to reduce pain and increase function FAILED. That is right, the surgery failed. You had the surgery, struggled with the pain postoperatively, diligently participated in physical therapy and yet the pain and limitation are still there.  Unfortunately, this occurs frequently.   Estimates range from 20-40% of patients who undergo low back surgery will develop Failed Back Surgery Syndrome. Pain is the most common symptom of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome…

Read More About Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Herniated Thoracic Disc

A herniated thoracic disc is especially difficult because there are not as many treatments available as there are for disc herniations in other areas of the spine. To understand Thoracic Disc Herniations, though, we first need to cover thoracic spine anatomy and function. With disc herniation, the annulus fibrosus get small tears throughout the annulus. An annulus is a bunch of concentric fibers, so, as the fibers get damaged and cut, the pressure that is built up within the nucleus pushes the now weakened annulus outward, creating a bulge or herniation. The disc begins to weaken via mild degeneration/tearing of the annular fibers…

Read More About Herniated Thoracic Disc

Patellofemoral Syndrome

The kneecap is also known as the patella. The thigh bone is the femur. The patellofemoral joint is formed by the kneecap and the grooved surface of the thigh bone. The patella slides up and down in a grooved track in the femur. The groove is more specifically called the trochlear groove. Like a train that travels on a track, under ideal conditions the patella tracks up and down in the trochlear groove.
What is Patellofemoral Syndrome?
Patellofemoral syndrome is a medical condition characterized by discomfort in the front of the knee and around the patella. Patellofemoral syndrome may also be known as “jumper’s knee” or “runner’s knee.”…

Read More About Patellofemoral Syndrome

Peroneal Nerve Injury

The common peroneal nerve branches behind the knee and this could be irritated from any overuse activity, surgery, instability, or any compression on the outside of the knee. Typically, this will present as pain on the outside of the knee radiating towards the baby toe, the calf, and the lateral shin towards the lateral ankle. What Causes Peroneal Nerve Compression? There are many potential causes of peroneal nerve compression, such as overuse activities, surgery, instability, or any compression on the outside of the knee. Trauma and nerve compression, especially caused by a fractured or dislocated ankle, can all cause injury to the peroneal nerve. Causes include:

Read More About Peroneal Nerve Injury

Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the central spinal canal and is a cause of significant pain and disability.  Common causes of spinal stenosis include disc protrusion, facet overgrowth and ligamentum flavum thickening.  Surgery is often chosen when conservative therapies fail despite the lack of convincing evidence that it is a superior treatment option.  Are there alternatives to back surgery for spinal stenosis?  Yes. Regenexx DDD utilizes precise platelet injections into the facets, muscles, and ligaments to treat the lumbar stenosis, treating all of the components of the issue, which is crucial. Spinal stenosis is often an age-related condition attributed…

Read More About Spinal Stenosis

How Do You Treat Nerve Pain in the Knee?

The Centeno-Schultz Clinic’s board-certified physicians are experts in the diagnosis of both spinal disorders and musculoskeletal and orthopedic disorders. We provide a full 60-minute new patient consultation with a thorough physical examination, neurological examination, musculoskeletal ultrasound of the nerves, the knee joints, the meniscus, and stabilizing ligaments. Initial treatment may include physical therapy, activity modification, and knee bracing. Additionally, medications and injections may be recommended. More definitive treatment would be using your own blood with platelet-rich plasma to help improve the function of the nerves from the lumbar spine, pelvis, and the knee in addition to platelet-rich plasma or bone marrow concentrate, which includes cells and platelet growth factors to improve the knee arthritis and instability.

Should You Be concerned About Nerve Pain in Your Knee?

Nerve pain symptoms of numbness, tingling, and/or weakness going all the way to the foot are abnormal and should be evaluated by a board-certified physician. Some intermittent clicking or a little bit of grinding around the kneecap walking downstairs or hiking in Colorado is typically mild to moderate arthritis and typically does not denote significant nerve-related problems in the knee.

Revolutionary Medical Treatments at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic

Knee nerve pain can be debilitating and require a multitude of medications, surgical procedures, and high-dose corticosteroids like cortisone that can lead to other problems. The board-certified physicians at Centeno-Schultz Clinic have revolutionary treatments validated in peer-reviewed literature to improve the function of the nerve and decrease nerve pain (1).

Using your own blood, platelet-rich plasma, the board-certified physicians at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic are able to inject and hydrodissect around all areas of nerve impingement, leading to your pain. This can include the lumbar nerve roots with an x-ray guided platelet epidural, the SI joint, the sciatic nerve in the pelvis, the sciatic nerve in the thigh, the tibial nerve, or the common peroneal nerve behind the knee. Hydrodissection is an ultrasound-guided injection with extremely small needles to create space around the peripheral nerves in the leg from the tight fascia, muscles, bones, or ligaments that are compressing and irritating the nerve. In addition, the platelets from your own blood improve the function of the nerve.

Can You Prevent Nerve Pain in the Knee from Getting Worse?

Depending on your presenting complaints and diagnosis, we do have recommendations on preventing the nerve pain from getting worse. These may include:

1. Physical therapy, nerve glides and nerve flossing.
2. Healthy anti-inflammatories like tumeric and ginger root.
3. Spinal alignment therapy and pelvic tilting for optimization of the lumbar nerve roots.
4. Specific nerve supplements including alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), vitamin B complex, lion’s mane, N-acetylcysteine and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Being proactive to prevent the patient from getting worse also includes board-certified physicians performing Interventional Orthopedic treatment using ultrasound-guided or live x-ray fluoroscopy guided injections using the healing agents from the patient’s own body around the areas of nerve irritation in their knee when needed. Being proactive allows patients to maintain their function, improve their pain and slow down the degenerative cascade. Do not take the nerve pain in your knee lightly.

In conclusion, the board-certified physicians at Centeno-Schultz Clinic have more revolutionary new treatments for nerve pain in your knee validated in peer-reviewed literature performed since 2005 at our two offices here in the Denver metropolitan area. If you or a family member have been recommended for surgery or high-dose steroid treatments for nerve pain in their knee, please contact us for a second opinion and a thorough consultation including diagnostic imaging review, physical examination, neurological examination and musculoskeletal ultrasound to discuss your candidacy for our rehabilitative therapies and injection-based therapies to avoid surgery and further compromise your knee function.

If you are interested in learning a new way of knee treatment, please download this Regenexx-SD e-book at centenoschultz.com.

References

Centeno, Christopher et al. “The use of lumbar epidural injection of platelet lysate for treatment of radicular pain.” Journal of experimental orthopaedics vol. 4,1 38. 25 Nov. 2017, doi:10.1186/s40634-017-0113-5.

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causes and treatment in Kyiv

Pain in the knee when getting out of bed, getting up from a chair, climbing stairs always indicates that there is a problem with the tissues of the knee joint. Any pain is either inflammation, or infringement, for example, of a nerve or a section of knee tissue, or the beginning of another pathological process in the joint. If there is pain when getting up from a chair, it is advisable to consult a doctor to determine the cause of this pain.

Any pain reminds us of a problem. Many diseases signal their onset with pain. It is said that pain is the body’s watchdog. Pain needs to be listened to and analyzed.

Why does knee pain occur when getting up, for example, from a chair?

From the point of view of the biomechanics of movement, the knee joint is tripled quite simply. It moves mostly in one plane. There is minimal rotational movement when the knee is bent. This is due to the additional joint between the tibia and fibula (an articulation that is anatomically referred to as the knee joint).

When getting up from a chair, the knee works exclusively for flexion and extension.

Pain in the joint when getting up from a chair can occur, for example, when there is a slight play in the knee. The play leads to additional non-physiological mobility of the knee. The reasons for such instability in the joint may be congenital anatomical features of the joint, weakness of the ligamentous apparatus, lack of soft tissue tension . .. The latter, for example, occurs with age, when the soft tissues of the knee lose their turgor.

Turgor is determined by fluid pressure (cytoplasm) in tissue cells. With good turgor, the cell is tense, its membrane is slightly stretched due to sufficient fluid pressure inside the cell. A decrease in turgor is a loss of moisture by the cell, wrinkling of the tissue.

Arthrosis also causes cartilage to lose turgor. Cartilage height decreases. At the same time, the ligaments lose their tension, the joint becomes more mobile. It is at this moment that unnatural extra movements in the knee joint may appear, which often leads to pain in the knee when standing up.

More often, pain in the knee when standing up indicates that there is an unnatural movement in the joint. In this case, soft tissues are injured. Although such pain can also appear at the onset of other, more complex diseases.

However, pain in the knee when standing up may be due to inflammation in the joint. Such pain will be felt not only when standing up, but also when running ( read more )

Pain in the knee when standing up can be a sign of incipient knee arthrosis . By the way, arthrosis of the knee joint is a degeneration (involution, aging, destruction) of the cartilage of the joint. Arthrosis begins with the loss of turgor by cartilage (about turgor, see above).

It is possible to find out the cause of pain in the knee when standing up when examining the patient (physical testing of the joint by a doctor), which, of course, needs to be supported by a hardware examination.

The very first examination that is carried out in case of pain in the knee joint is an x-ray of the knee. To clarify the details and nature of changes in the joint that cause pain when standing up, an MRI of the knee is also performed. If necessary, when there are signs of arthritis of the knee joint, laboratory tests are needed. Useful in the diagnosis is an ultrasound of the knee joint. It is better to do an ultrasound of two joints at the same time. This will allow you to see the difference between a diseased and a healthy joint. This approach greatly facilitates the diagnosis.

In summary, it is important to note that knee pain when standing up is a sign of joint pathology, which requires diagnosis and determination of the cause. This pain can be a sign of both joint instability and the onset of a formidable disease. For example, arthritis. As you know, arthrosis in the later stages requires a complex and expensive operation – replacing the joint with an artificial one. Therefore, you need to take pain in the knee when standing up seriously and not start the disease.

Who diagnoses and treats joint pain

Gongalsky Vladimir Vladimirovich

Doctor of Medicine, orthopedist-traumatologist, neurologist, vertebroneurologist

Kopyl Evgeny Gennadiyevich

Orthopedist-traumatologist, vertebrologist

Shityuk Mikhail Yuryevich

Orthopedist-traumatologist, vertebrologist

Sergei Vladimirovich Zhandarov

Cardio-rheumatologist

Maksimov Grigory Alexandrovich

Doctor of Neurology, Candidate of Medical Sciences

Equipment of the Center for diagnostics

MRI device Toshiba Vantage Elan 1. 5 Tesla

Ultrasound device Philips AFFINITY 50

X-ray complex “Radspeed” SHIMADZU

Ultrasound device GE LOGIQ F8

Read

Doctor of Medical Sciences, V.V. Gongalsky

Ukrainian Institute of Musculoskeletal Medicine and Neurology
www.gongalsky.com.ua

Read more about joints and their treatment :

1. Treatment of knee pain
2. The role of diagnostics in the management of knee pain
3. Treatment of diseases (pain) of the joints in Kyiv
4. How to avoid joint surgery

Pinched sciatic nerve – symptoms and treatment

Pinched sciatic nerve – discomfort in the lower body associated with squeezing or irritation of the nerve itself. Most often, the disease affects people over 30 years old.

The sciatic nerve is the largest in our body. It covers most of the body – from the lumbosacral spine, then passes into the buttock, along the back of the thigh and to the lower leg. Therefore, it is important to monitor his condition. The slightest irritation in one part of the nerve will lead to pain throughout its area. In the absence of timely treatment, sensitivity and mobility of the lower extremities are gradually lost.

Pinching may occur due to:

• Lumbar hypothermia
• Excessive load on the pelvic muscles
• Scoliosis and other spinal disorders
• Spinal injuries
• Arthrosis and other diseases of the hip joint
• Pregnancy
• Complications during childbirth
• Sedentary
• Injuries of the sciatic nerve by intramuscular injections
• Infectious diseases
• Neoplasms (benign and malignant)
• Pain when bruised or falling
• Herniated disc
• Osteochondrosis
• Piriformis Syndrome

Therefore, experts divide the disease into two types – primary and secondary. The primary is associated with compression of the nerve trunk by a damaged muscle, and the secondary is caused by the pathology of the spinal column, hip joints, and occurs against the background of pregnancy or diseases of the pelvic organs.

A pinched nerve can develop faster if you are overweight. It is also important to monitor the intake of essential vitamins and minerals in the body, since their absence or deficiency leads to the risk of accelerated development of the disease.

Symptoms and treatment of pinched sciatic nerve

This disease is quite painful and will not pass without a trace. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you should see a specialist – a neurologist, neuropathologist or therapist. He will prescribe the necessary treatment and medications.

Symptoms of a pinched sciatic nerve

• Pain in the lower back, hamstring, buttocks or lower leg
• Discomfort while walking, when bringing the legs together and bending the knee
• Feeling of heat in the toes
• Feeling of chilliness in the affected area of ​​the nerve
• Excessive sweating
• Impaired joint mobility – usually patients complain that they cannot straighten their leg
• Numbness of limbs
• Goosebumps on the leg
• Discoloration of the skin in the affected area
• General malaise, lethargy and weakness
• Fever

It is in the presence of these symptoms that neuropathologists, neurologists and therapists diagnose a pinched sciatic nerve. If the specialist has doubts, then to fully clarify the situation, the patient is sent for CT or MRI. Based on the results of the procedures, the diagnosis and treatment will be determined.

Symptoms in women with pinched sciatic nerve

The disease can occur during pregnancy. In the second or third trimester, the enlarged uterus puts pressure on the pelvic muscles, thereby causing a spasm. In the expectant mother, the center of gravity is redistributed and the lumbar vertebrae are displaced. Also in the pelvic area, the growing head of the fetus compresses the sciatic nerve.

From 40 to 80% of pregnant women complain of back pain. However, pinching of the sciatic nerve is not always the cause, it is observed only in 5% of cases.

Doctors say that the disease can go away after childbirth. However, you should not endure pain until this moment, it is better to see a specialist in order to avoid serious consequences and increase pain.

Treatment of pinched sciatic nerve

Most of the time, the pain comes on suddenly. Therefore, before contacting a specialist, you need to take a few simple steps:

1. Sit in a comfortable and pain-free position. The best option is to lie on your back or on your healthy side with a straight leg in which pain is felt

2. Avoid activity as much as possible, as each extra movement can provoke additional pain

3. Give up old-fashioned methods of treatment – it is better to remove the heating pad to the side, and do not rub the diseased area. These actions may aggravate the situation

4. Take painkillers. They will help dull the sharp aching pain. Usually such drugs are in the form of capsules or ointments

Emergency medical attention should be called for unbearable pain that is not dulled or suppressed by analgesics. In more favorable cases, medical assistance is also needed. It is best to contact a neurologist, neurologist or therapist. As soon as the pain is relieved, see a doctor at a local clinic.

How is a pinched sciatic nerve treated?

After asking about symptoms and examining, the doctor refers the patient to an X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, or a general and biochemical blood test. Procedures are necessary in order to determine the extent of the problem. Also, based on their results, the doctor determines the cause of the pinched sciatic nerve and detects inflammation.

After that, experts prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs, a complex of B vitamins and muscle relaxants. Also, the patient can receive a referral to physiotherapy and exercise therapy. Usually, procedures are prescribed for unbearable pain that does not go away even after complex treatment. In special cases, the doctor may prescribe additional vitamin complexes, antioxidants and painkillers. Thus, not only the symptoms of the disease will be removed, but the fight against the disease-causative agent will also begin.