Is my Spinal Stenosis causing my leg pain?

Research best Orthopedic Surgeon you can find…of course this site is Mayo Clinic, it would best, but too far away. It is for me.

Your lumbar vertebrae are likely causing the sciatica. An impinged nerve will feel like shocks that run down legs….I feel for you! Hope you get relief! An epidural may buy you some time,

No, this is not sciatic pain. It almost feels like bone pain in my legs, from the hip all the way down. I think this is going to take me a long time to get a diagnosis on this.

CT might still help diagnose what ever is wrong better than an MRI

@denman55 Spinal stenosis can cause leg pain. This can happen from spinal stenosis in your neck or in the lumbar area. The pain may feel different depending on how much compression there is and how vertebrae can shift position due to muscle spasms. It may feel like bone pain to you, but with nerves, you can feel pain anywhere along the length of the nerve and not necessarily where the problem is. This is why they do nerve conduction tests so they can find the place where a nerve may be compressed and the transmission slows down because it can conduct normally in other parts. Another member described nerve compression as an electric shock, and that is true when the amount of compression is greater. Difficulty walking can result from spinal cord compression and often it causes weakness and an uneven gait.

Spine problems can take awhile to diagnose, so I think your best bet is to start with a spine specialist. They can refer you for imaging and to a neurologist for testing. I think you'll save time that way, but you'll need to do some research to find a good spine surgeon. It makes a difference, and if you have a lumbar surgery, the recovery is more difficult than if it is cervical. Some spine problems can cause permanent damage and disability if there is compression that is not decompressed. I have communicated with another member on Connect who was unable to walk because of spinal cord compression causing myelomylacia (Spinal cord damage) and he has just had surgery. You may be interested in this discussion about Myelomylacia.

Spine Health - "Chronic myelomalacia"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chronic-myelomalacia/
Do you have any swelling in your legs that suggests a possible vascular issue? Does your skin appear shiny or stretched? That is something a doctor likely would ask if concerned about circulatory issues. Your doctor can order a Doppler ultrasound study to show circulation in your legs. My mom had this when she had blood clots and they had to monitor them.

Have you discussed this with your primary care physician?

I just finished treatment with a Spine Center/Sports Medicine facility ---
I had acupuncture, OT, Chiropractics. The physician also ordered an MRI,
and I had the MILD procedure done, as well as Epidural steroid injections.
His final recommendation to me was to consider having the Spinal Cord Stimulator for my back pain. I don't know what caused my leg pain, but it is not nerve related because I don't have the "electric shock" type pains like I have with my Diabetic neuropathy in my feet. I do have varicose veins, confirmed by my Cardiologist's testing, and must wear compression stockings.
I've seen a Orthopedic surgeon who informed me based on my MRI results I am not a candidate for surgery. So, I've gone full circle here, from Orthopedics to Pain Management and back again, with no relief. At this point I don't know what type of physician to see any more.

@denman55 Thanks for your reply. You may want to look at this website article that describes how symptoms similar to a spine sciatic problem can be generated if it's not a spine problem. This would be something a physical therapist could address.

"How to identify and treat lumbar plexus compression syndrome (LPCS)"
https://mskneurology.com/identify-treat-lumbar-plexus-compression-syndrome-lpcs/
Have any of your providers suggested physical therapy?

Do you suffer from allergies by chance? I have stenosis upper and lower but my bone pain was caused by mast cell activation so I had to modify my diet and add allergy meds which has reduced the deep bone pain and now I just have nerve pain and muscle cramping due to some type of myopathy my geneticist and nueromusclar doctors are investigating. But I also have muscle atrophy.

@chefdecemberskye I find your comment about bone pain and allergies interesting. I am a spine patient, but my fusion was done without hardware with only a bone spacer. I have had bone pain from titanium plates on my ankle after an ankle fracture and had chronic hives that developed 6 months after that surgery that made huge patches anywhere on my body. I've had a lot of allergies and food allergies and those changed after I had the titanium plates removed and my body was then metal free. I can now eat foods that previously bothered me. I have been gluten free for over 20 years. I should also add that I had dental work with metals removed and replaced with safer composites, and my old crowns were redone with Ceramic only ones and it all helped. I have less asthma problems with breathing because I have less phlegm in my lungs.

There is a practice in Texas that treats patients for metal and implant material sensitivity in Texas, and I think treating all the allergies a patient has is part of the regiment. This is the link:
https://www.ehcd.com/

My husband had the MILD procedure 3 weeks ago, and his pain is much worse. He now has pain in the groin that makes it difficult to walk and to sleep. He sometimes is using a cane. Prior to the MILD he had little to no pain in groin area. The doctor said the procedure went very well. He never told us there would be a long recovery or that the pain might get worse before it got better after the procedure. Now he has scheduled an MRI for the hip. The new pain began within 48 hours after surgery. Any ideas on how to handle this? Would be interested in hearing from others who had the MILD procedure.

I had the MILD procedure a few months ago ....
I was in pain for a few days following the procedure, the physician told me it was a result of inflammation and prescribed an oral steroid. The MILD procedure (and the oral steroid) did nothing for me. My pain persisted. I do have groin pain, but that is because I have bilateral inguinal hernias. The disturbing piece of this is that I devloped leg pain in both legs, mostly from the hip to the knees, making walking and standing next to impossible without horrible pain. The physician final recommendation for me was to get the Spinal Cord Stimulator for the pain. I have not pursued any further medical treatment for this. I still remain in a lot of pain and actually don't know how to proceed or what type of doctor to see regarding my condition.