Does This Sound Like Sciatica?

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sassy411

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It's both legs pretty evenly. I was very surprised when swimming aggravated it, that normally makes everything feel better all over.

I was going to put this off for a few weeks but it sounRAB as if I need to talk with my doctor sooner?

Oh yes, I've had low back pain for years. I never made any connection but my doctor asked me about prior accidents because my neck is causing a lot of issues right now & neeRAB to be xrayed. About 30 yrs ago, I was in a pretty nasty rear ender, I got hit standing still, the other car was doing about 45 mph. Luckily my neck didn't break.

I'm waiting a couple of weeks for my new insurance to kick in before getting the neck xray. SounRAB as if I may need more than that?

I also finding that ultracet is more effective on this leg pain than vicodin.
 
I've long had pain from my left hip that sometimes shot to my knee. I recently have started having knee problems.

But, my question about sciatica comes from my more recent symptoms--I'm waking up at night with burning pain that starts in my left hip & shoots all the way down to my feet which have been achy all over & it's worse at night, pain & burning, especially intense in my heels.

What makes me question whether it could be sciatica or something else is that the leg pain & burning are in both legs, not just the left.

I'm going to be getting xrays of my neck soon when my new insurance kicks in, should I be asking the doctor about hip or back, too? This is kinda miserable.
 
Swimming is an interesting activity in that it is recommended for many back issues, but is contra-indicated for certain specific back problems such as a spondylolisthesis (which is, simply put, when one vertebra slips over the top of the adjoining one...it results in an instability of that spinal segment which often causes nerve compression....). With that condition, the patient is told to avoid any activity that puts the back in extension....so that means when you swim, you can do the side stroke, and sometimes the back stroke if you're careful. Breast stroke and front crawl (freestyle) are done with the back in extension, and are also difficult on the neck, so usually aggravate back and leg pain caused by spondylolisthesis.

A spondylolisthesis will show up on a routine X-ray of the spine. It could be caused by a auto accident, a fall, etc. It can also be caused by degeneration and in some people, is congenital, but they don't find out about it until years later. Often people live with it most of their lives because it isn't causing any pain.

You don't need to rush into your doctor. The only way it would be considered an emergency would be if you developed bowel or bladder problems, or suddenly developed "foot drop." Then you'd want to contact the doctor ASAP or even go to the emergency room in the case of sudden bowel or bladder involvement.
 
Ahhh, thank you for that explanation.

As for the swimming, I got a jog belt so I can use my legs/low back very little if I want & get primarily an upper body work out & moderate cardio with a little abs thrown in, if I stay mindful.

So I was able to do laps this morning without a lot of pain. I know what you mean about the back extension & I feel like the jog belt takes that stress off.

I'm thinking I will skip my quad work today with ankle weights--I wonder if that is putting stress on my low back. I can do squats in the pool instead.
 
Hi sassy. Yes, do tell the doctor about these symptoms. He may order an MRI to see if there is anything going on in your lurabar area. Be sure to make note of what makes it worse and if there is anything you do that makes it better.

Please stay in touch and let us know what happens.

Carol
 
Leg and feet pain at night can be caused by claudication. As atherosclerosis progresses and blockage becomes more severe, a burning/aching pain in the feet and toes will occur particularly at night time while lying flat. This pain, known as rest pain, occurs because the arteries of the leg can no longer deliver adequate blood flow to the feet, even at rest. Rest pain generally worsens when the legs are elevated, such as when lying in bed at night. Relief from this pain may occur only when the feet are dangled.

This is why it is so important to be checked out and not assume that it is your back. I know of two people that were misdiagnosed and treated for sciatica when in fact their symptoms were do to artery blockages. Their physicians just assumed since they had bad backs that they were experiencing sciatica.
 
Thanks, Carol. I will do that.

What baffles me is that both legs are affected equally, tho most of the hip pain is on my left. Doesn't seem to make any sense to me.
 
I would definitely NOT use ankle weights until you have a diagnosis!! It may be putting a good deal of additional pressure on the lower lurabar area.

You can use the vest in deep water for a good leg workout, too. That shouldn't hurt anything...just be sure your body is suspended upright, just like if you were walking on land.
 
Have you ever had any lower lurabar back problems? Is the pain in both legs the same most of the time or does it move from one leg to the other, and then sometimes in both legs? I had instability in a segment of my lurabar spine that caused the leg pain to move around -- sometimes to the left leg, but mostly it was on the right side. Sometimes it would switch daily. Other times it would be in the right leg for months. Then for no apparent reason it would stop and shift over to the left leg.

You can have sciatic type pain that comes from a spinal nerve and radiates out to a lirab, or the actual sciatic nerve can be inflamed or irritated. If it is in both legs consistently, I would think it is coming from nerve compression or irritation originating in your spine.

Be sure to mention it to your doctor. He can do some testing to try to determine where it is coming from.

Please let us know what you find out.
 
That is scary. This pain starts at my hips & is at its worst in my calves, I have long felt achiness in my arches, but not toes.
 
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