The doc thinks foot pain might be coming from L5-S1. 3 major neck surgeries and trouble with L5-S1.
My feet absolutely kill me. It is so painful that I can NOT walk very much. It is VERY painful to stand in one place.
What suggestions can we all share?
The ONLY suggestion that has worked a little bit for me is elevating my feet for long periods of time. It reverses the circulation. It also releases the pressure on my L5-S1.
Does anybody know a good way to keep your legs elevated when you sleep? I keep knocking the pillows and wedges off. Last night, I put one pillow under the mattress but I really don't want to ruin my new mattress. Does anybody think that an adjustable bed is a good idea ---- if somehow I could figure a way to stop tossing and keep lying on my back.
What is the best test or type of doctor for determining if the foot pain is coming from the L5-S1?
Hi Sean! I can totally relate to the foot pain! Mine seems to get worse when I wear sneakers, especially when walking on gravel. My right foot got so bad it felt like a "tear", ligament or something. If I swung my foot up when getting into bed etc, the pain was like it was ripping, knife stabbing pain. Since I switched to hiking boots to walk it has gotten better. I believe it is from the back troubles. I too had l5/s1 discectomy along with several herniated cervical discs. I tried the viox, now stopped, but it helped alittle, mainly just taking the ibuprophren and baby it some. It took several weeks to ease up. It sure is amazing how the back effects other areas. My knees, ankles, especially ankles are very painful! Even my fingers are hurting and very cold hands most of the time. Are the tops of your feet pins and needles? MIne are, and very hard to wear shoes that rub that area. Guess its all part of the nerve issue and arthritis? Best wishes to you, I know how you feel as all the others on this board. Its reassuring to be able to hear the stories of all who like us suffer, to know we are not alone.
Thanks Cardinal for your post. It is good to hear others share similar experiences.
It would be EVEN better if we could all figure out how to alleviate this pain because the doctors don't help that much.
YES ... I also have pain in the knees. But, that is more attirubted to 2 tears in the medial meniscus.
What do you think it is about the hiking boots? I have not tried that? I have hundreds of pairs of shoes and would like to replicate your good experience ... but I no longer own hiking boots.
When I get the chance to walk on a sand beach, I seem to be better by the way.
I can also relate to the foot pain you are talking about.... I have experienced this pain for about 8 months now in my right foot.... it feels like my toes and the side of my foot are being stabbed with a knife..they burn and hurt... feel like they are gonna fall off....only relief I get is by lying flat on my back... which releases the pressure at L5-S1.. which is where all my problems are.... and makes the foot pain ease up... I have also found that When I was on Keppra...which is like Neruontin... the pain in my foot eased up... they took me off the Keppra since the only pain it did help is the foot pain... and switched me to Neurontin....but I am kinda afraid to take the Neurontin... because of all the scary side effects....but I was told specifically by my Neurologist that my L5-S1 is what was causing the foot pain.. because those nerves run right down your leg and into your foot and that is one of the classic signs of L5-S1 trouble....I find I can not wear any type of shoes that presses on my foot... like sneakers etc... makes the pain worse... pretty much only wear flip flops.... Which may pose a problem in the winter... LOL! Hope this helped a bit.... Hope things get better for you... Take Care......
Sean, I would go to a neurological surgeon to see if your pain is related to your L5,S1. An EMG and MRI would hopefully show if this is a problems. I happen to believe that neuros are better than orthos for nerve problems. I think it is helpful to actually find out what is causing the pain for sure. It sounds like your doc is not very helpful. Good luck in finding out what is causing it so you can deal with it properly.
I have been on Neurontin for about a month now and I have to tell you it has been very good for me. I had a microdiscectomy at L5,S1 about 8 weeks ago and had great results except for alot of pain in my left foot. Doc started me on Neurontin and we slowly upped the dose until I reached 300mg 4 times a day. I am not sure what scary side effects you are referring to Mary. The only problems I have is I am a little groggy in the morning and I am a bit forgetful. I forget names more than anything. It is a very fair trade to be relieved of the foot pain. I can sleep now. I actually have gone back to work this week and I have no problems functioning. I take alot of notes to help me remember but I drive with no problems. The side effects aslo go away after a few days.
I am not sure what scary side effects you are referring to Mary.
Alan
Im not Mary.... but the side effects I was referring to in my post were my Neurologist told me when he perscribed neurontin to me that I could experience and he warned me about severe sedation.... also told me I could experience severe mood swings and depression... and I already experience depression enough, I dont need it to be worse...he also warned me that if you start to take it, then stop suddenly you can experience seizures... eventhough it is a drug used in people that have seizures....So with that said.. I am very leary of taking it...
I like Al have been taking Nuerotin for 4 weeks and have not experienced any of those side effects your doctor is talking about. I am taking 300mg 3 times and a day and it has been great. I do plan on talking to my doctor about upping my dose. The only thing I have noticed since taking it is being a little groggy also. I am also taking it for the foot pain. I have noticed the pain is not as bad but I still have some. I have been sleeping a whole lot better. Angela
Angela, I am glad to hear you are doing a little better. I had my best results when I got to 300mg 4 times a day. TexasWildRose, I appologize for calling you Mary, maybe it was the Neurontin talking. I had not been told of mood swings or depression. I asked about the seizure thing when I was started on it. My doctor said that unless I had a siezure before, it is unlikely that I would have one. He did say that I should still be careful when I stop, just as a precaution.
I can relate to not wanting to make depression worse. There are some very important people in my life that suffer from severe depression and I see the struggle they have every day. I would much rather deal with physical pain than fight that. Plus, back pain can definitely dump that on you as well. I am also on amitriptyline. If you are not familiar with it, it is a type of antidepressant. He told me it would help me sleep but maybe it was to keep me from getting depressed. If you do start it, don't be alarmed by the mental slowdown you feel at first, it definitely gets better. Now I am just a little more goofy than I normally am. It is worth it for me but it is a personal choice and not for everyone. I wish you the best.
sean-
i agree with the others-GET THE EMG and mri. EMG will say definately where it is. they suck, believe me, be aware that an emg is a series of pins, larger than acupuncture pins(ALOT BIGGER!!!!) and they stick them in various parts of your leg. no one told me about this and i almost decked the doctor who did it! you think i am kidding or talking big! i was saying so many 4 letter words that my mother would be horrified! but it did tell me that i had radiculopathy (big word for pain) running down my leg into my foot. no kidding, they didn't need pins for me to know that for sure! good luck!
kaat776
Sean,
I have Spondy at L5-S1 and about a few months ago I started getting really bad pain in both of my feet. It is so bad in the morning that I can barely stand and walk, I'm am incredibly unsteady on my feet. As the say goes on it gets worse. It's embarrasing, I can't walk properly at all and have a really bad limp. I don't know if this is related to my back problems but I would imagine so, along with everything else of course. I have a doctors appt scheduled for a week and a half from now in regards to this so I should know more then. I will let you know what I find out after my appt and maybe it will help you out in figuring out what the problem is. Take care and I'll be in touch. Kristy.
I have extensive back problems (ant/post fusion L4-S1, lots of scarring, etc.) and always have a difficult time sleeping. A few months back I bought a Tempurpedic mattress with an adjustable bed base and it is great!! While it hasn't been a miracle cure, it has helped. Very expensive, though. A lot of adjustable bed bases these days don't raise the feet very much, but the one Tempurpedic uses does - just something to watch out for. I'd definitely suggest trying them out in a store if you are considering one.
On the subject of Neurontin.. I have taken it for some time, and the only significant side effect I've noticed is dry mouth. While it's effects are subtle, it does help me with the pain a little.
You might want to look up "osteophytes (bone spurs)” on the Internet. Try having an x-ray done on your foot to see if you have bone spurs. These are really painful I have bone spurs on my spine L4-5 and L5-S1 so I have a lot of back pain. I had an x-ray of my spine taken and after reading the results I had an MRI, which showed that I have a disc extrusion on L5-S1 and a small central disc protrusion on L4-5. I take calcium supplements about 1200mg a day and this has eased the pain tremendously. Bone spurs form from calcium deficiency. Your body starts to steal calcium from your bones thus small eruptions form (bone spur) and start pinching your nerves. The calcium supplements that I take are from Shaklee and it's called Super Cal Mag Plus. With time the bone spurs start to diminish. I believe this because they helped me like you would not believe!
I too have problems at L5-S1. My problem (besides the pain and hardly being able to walk) is burning and numbness on the outside of my leg, foot numbness and calf pain. I have an electric bed that I bought at a department store. It has just a *regular* mattress on it (wish it was the tempurpedic!), but it really has been worth every penny I spent on it. I can elevate my legs and head to get in a place where I can sleep. I cannot sleep in a regular flat bed anymore. So, I can recommend an electric bed. It's really helped me.
I got this same pain since Dec now. I got it from Spondylolyse in L5/S1, which is a kind of a separation of a vertebral joint.
I have been to many doctors and at the end I fortunately went to a neurosurgeon, who seems to be the correct person to speak to. But be careful because they might be pretty quick in offering you an operation.
Therefore it might be wiser to first go to a good orthopedist and check out if he can help you with e.g. work out, accupuncture, physiotherapy or other conservative treatments. If he seems to be lost or the pain doesn´t disappear after a couple of months, you should really try a neurosurgeon. He is the right specialist and might offer you an operation for your problem - if needed of course!
For your current pain you should try lying on your side with knees half pulled towards your head (90 degrees). Don´t stand on one place for too long and go for a fast walk (30 min./day) in order to improve your muscles.
If pain is getting too much you might ask for Cortisone. I took it 6 weeks from 15 to 0 mg. and it was like holidays, i.e. nearly no pain.
Re: L5-S1 causing foot pain 
