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Neuropathy with back pain exercise
Neuropathy | Last Active: Apr 17 12:00pm | Replies (58)Comment receiving replies
@steveinmontana - This is really frustrating and has always been hard for me to understand. The sciatic nerve runs through the spinal canal, all the way down into our feet. If the nerves in the spine are being compressed, and they're producing low back pain, sciatic pain, calf and foot pain, why on earth don't doctors see the connection with neuropathy! When I had my first MRI in 2021, it showed a "slight disc bulge at L4-L5" that was pressing on a nerve, but because I had "no back pain" at that time, the concensus was that it wasn't causing my neuropathy. Instead, I was told I had "textbook idiopathic peripheral neuropathy" - to me, that just meant no one was willing to get to the bottom of it because they could simply prescribe drugs like Gabapentin and Lyrica. Now, after the recent MRI that shows ALL the nerves in the spinal canal are compressed, to the extent it's now the cauda equina compression, the current spine doctor is saying, "Hmmm ... I wonder is this is all related? You need to see a neurosurgeon right away." SMH!! Well DUH! It's what makes me soooo doubtful of what we're told, and are we just being duped into going along with the system that puts money in their pockets and very little relief for us. Sorry to rant - I wish you well on your journey. I can't stand more than 5-10 minutes at present. Can't take any pain meds either until I get the shot - no anti inflammatories 5 days prior. Ugh - not that they were doing much good anyway. < sigh>
Replies to "@steveinmontana - This is really frustrating and has always been hard for me to understand. The..."
@brennankb55 your understanding of sciatica is incorrect so it’s hard to tackle the rest of what is woven here. The sciatic nerve starts in the lower back in the buttock area and the pain may or may not travel down your leg to your foot. It’s a lot more complicated. A visit back to the doctor to ask a more questions would be helpful. If pain is showing up in your leg or foot and it’s beginning in your spine from disc compression, it is called radiculopathy (referred pain) and not neuropathy (local pain). Neuropathy is when the pain is local and its cause is local. So sciatic pain in your foot or lower leg is radiculopathy not neuropathy. Neuropathy can be caused by nutritional insufficiencies and may be able to be treated by supplementation, exercise, and topical treatments. Radiculopathy on the other hand is caused by nerve impingement at your spine, sacroiliac, hip or knee nerve impingement. My sciatic pain is due to nerves which run through my piriformis and buttocks muscles that are in trapped, and when I sit too much my buttocks, muscle muscles squeeze the trapped nerves that run through there and caused pain in my SI joint area. You can go for painful nerve tests and they will tell you where your pain is originating; you can have MRIs done and they will tell you if you have compression in your spine which may cause referred pain to your legs and feet; it all can be related or it all can be different or a mix of both. My suggestion is to continue getting tested and acquiring more specific information. One way you can tell the difference is by rubbing the area in question and seeing if it makes a difference. If you scratch and itch and it doesn’t stop itching then it’s not a local issue. Neuropathies can be numbed easily by top topical ointment, radiculopathies are much harder to relieve by local treatments.
We do get cheated out of good doctrine these days that is for sure!
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@brennankb55 My situation sounds exactly the same! My primary recommends an orthopedic surgeon who does only 1 type of surgery that is very expensive. No one ever mentions pain management or neurosurgery! I have to find that out on my own! My son told me about his neighbor who received injections and they worked. So I've been seeing a pain management doctor who has done an ablation and an epidural, both of which have failed! I think you're absolutely right, that the hospital, which is the only 1 in 120 miles and is a virtual monopoly, works only for their benefit, not the patients! I wait weeks for so.eone to schedule me and weeks for the procedure and pay and pay and pay for what? Nothing! Pain even worse than before! I'm really thinking about looking into a class action lawsuit against the hospital. I can't be the only one going through this! I just have to find a really good lawyer that could do it pro-bono until we get a positive verdict! But how does one find folks in the area who have gone through these battles? I'll have to figure that out!