Bad Back.. Can it cause upper-leg pain? - Pain Management Message Board

Otter66 · 01-03-2006, 11:29 AM

Hi everbody,

This is a quick post because I'm just about off break here at the job!

I have had major pain pain for years. This included sciatic pain down to my toes. But recently, I have been having not only increased lower back pain, but SEVERE pain in my left and right kneecap areas. The pain radiates from my kneecaps and goes up into my waist area. The pain is not constant, but happens most-often when I have been sitting down for a while (30 min or so). Now, I may just have bad knees, but I was thinking today that maybe my BACK has something to do with the pain. I know that the S. Nerve can hurt my legs underneath, but not by the kneecap. Any others who have experienced this?

Thanks,

Otter66

Shoreline · 01-03-2006, 01:16 PM

Hey Otter, Sure can, A dermatome map shows what areas of the leg the different lumbar sacral nerves provide/recieve sensation from. A compressed nerve usually causes altered sensation in some or all of each dermatome "colored pattern in chart" .
[url]http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/GrossAnatomy/learnem/dermat/main_der.htm[/url]

This map suggest it would be attributed to L5 and if I remeber corectly that was an area they corected that produced pain in th side of my knee and made my lwer foot feel lke it was in ice or on fire.

However the way the nerves branch off and join together the sciatic nerve is more like a large highway where nerves from L3-4-5 and the upper sacral nerves meet and run down. It's hard to surgically correct all sciatica because it could be caused from any of the 6 levels where nerves leave the spine, or by muscle clamping down on a nerve that jooins the sciatic bundle.

L5 joins the sciatic but also branches out and down the outside of the knee. I could draw lines down my legs "one, down the outside of my knee" were the nerves ran after feeling pain and altered sensation for years between surgery. Fortunately that was compltely relieved surgically by reducing the bulges at the corosponding nerve roots.

Anyway, you can have typical sciatica, down through your cheek, the back of your leg through you knee and to your heel. But you can also have referrred pain to where the nerves branch off, which is better displayed in the dermatome map rather than a map of lumbar sacral nerves. Conversely, you can have only the reffered pain without the typical sciatic pattern from a nerve impingment of any of the 3 lumbar vertabrea and 3 sacral vertabrea that bundle together and make up the sciatic nerve, it just pepends on which nerve fibers of the root are being compressed.
Here is some nerve anatomy if your courious. This is good, it shows how the sciatic is created and how each nerve root still branches out.
[url]http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/GrossAnatomy/learnem/nerves/ls/ls_main.htm[/url]
Good luck, Dave

Otter66 · 01-04-2006, 10:51 AM

Hi Shoreline,

Thanks for the (as usual) excellent response to a general question. It's interesting that my most-damaged area of my spine is my L5 vertabrae; the exact one that you mentioned was connected to my knees. Dave, I go to tell you, it is unbelievable how painful my knees are!!! The pain was so bad the other day, that I lost my ability to WALK! My knees were so painful that they couldn't hold the weight of my body. I have gained about 55 lbs in the last 2 years due to depression and the inability to do anykind of cardiovascular excercise. I use to run 10k marathons like they were nothing, and now I can't stand up and walk for more than 15 minutes. Anyway, thanks for the info. I am making an appointment with knee specialist next week; I have to get this pain under control! I'll keep you informed.

Have a blessed NEW YEAR!

OTTER66