Does this sound like sciatica???

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lsmith1

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I am having bad leg pain and it is constant. I actually dont have any bad back pain...it hurts a little but not too bad. My pain starts on the side of my hip wraps around to the back of my leg and goes all the way down to my foot. I also feel it in the front of my thigh too. It feels like tight pain so that is why I am worried. I have tried all the exercises I have found online and I definitly feel it in those main spots when I am stretching. I guess I am not sure because the way it started was strange...I got a charlie horse in my foot 2 days in a row and then it started and has not let up for 4 days now. Cant figure out if it is sciatica or if it is tight muscles from a vitamin deficency or something.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Laurin
 
It could be sciatic or it could be muscle spasms. When my issues first started, I only felt pain in my left groin. After awhile I had it running down my left leg, in my left buttocks, and in my lower back. As it turns out I do have an issue in my lower back which is responsible for all of that. Try Aleve for now. It can work as a muscle relaxer. Otherwise, if it doesn't go away soon go see your doctor and they can investigate what could be going on. The difference between sciatic pain and muscle spasms is that, sciatic feels deeper, and with massage you can never find the source of the pain. That is what frsutrated me the most before I sought medical treatment.
 
Thanks for your response...I have been looking up my symptoms online and its got me scared I have a blood clot or something. I am sure it is just sciatica but just seems strange that it cam on so suddenly and is the tightest in my calf.

Thanks again!!!
 
it could actually be a problem within that hip itself or right in that joint too. when the joint sockets get a bit too dry they don;t lubricate well, so you can have some pain. the ball could also intermittantly be impinging upon a nerve that runs close by too. there are alot of different possibilities for what you have described. i too would try the aleeve and see if it doesn;t help. if this sticks around,it should be evaluated by your doc soon. doing a plain x ray on that hip joint could show some type of issue. no where as good as an MRI but there are areas that could be looked at and just seen with x ray. have you tried using heat or ice? placing it right at the base of your pain may help. hope it goes away for you,but if not,you know the drill. marcia
 
Backslide-
So funny cause I just responded to your post before reading that you had replied to mine...LOL I am glad to find someone with the same symptoms too. I am sorry yours has been going on so long though...mine has only been for about a week. I have had cold and warm feelings too which I think is just nerves but like we both said we are worried about clots.

I am not sure why I am worried about it I am not at risk for them but I guess Im just worried because anyone can get them. I do smoke but I am only 26 and am not on birth control or anything and I am a little active..LOL I am not overweight or anything.

I meant to ask you...are you having any back pain? That is what is strange to me is that I have no back pain yet seems like sciatica...weird.
 
you have described my pain exactly, mine came on suddenly back in April so I've been suffering for the last 6 months or so with it. It started in my left calf and felt like a pulled muscle, very tight like the tendon was stretched; that feeling lasted for months, then the last couple mnths its moved up my leg to around my knee with jabbing knife like pains, when I stretch it sometimes brings it on (the pulsating pains) and can happen anytime.
My ortho says it's sciatica due to my back problem, but I thought sciatica had different symptoms. is this similar to what you feel?

At first I worried it was a blood clot too:confused:
I've tried Aleve, and Advil (hmmm not really sure it helps) Using a cream called Topricin seems to give some relief. I've also heard Biofreeze helps some people, although I haven't tried it.
I wish you the best and hope you find something that helps you with this it's awful to suffer like this, Life it hard!!
 
tho this doesn't sound like a clot issue,you can have a doppler scan(and ultrasound using that doppler tool?) run on the vessels within your legs just to see if there isn;t some level of blockage. i had to have this done a couple years ago. the thing is,with clots,you would actually have some level of heat generation going on in a particular spot too. this was my main symptom that turned out to just be related to my RSD,but it had me worried. its just pretty simple to rule out clots these days if you need to. swelling,redness and tenderness over a vessel are also symptoms too. i really think just based upon what you have stated as symptoms that this is more than likely a hip issue or even a knee that has some issues can also cause you pain in the hip area on down too. it creates a problem with the way that hip ball sits within the socket,you know what i mean? anything that changes your gait,the way you would normally walk,can cause problems from the hip on down. just an FYI. i hope you can find the sources for both your guys's issues soon. but like i mentioned above,if you feel this could at all be a possible blood clot issue,it can be very easily ruled out, if nothing else,it would ease worried minRAB. i do know what thats like. good luck to the both of you. marcia
 
Thanks for your response...I actually just went to the doctor and she said she did not think it was a clot and saw no reason to do the scan. I trust her and she thinks it is muscular. I do have the burning feeling in my leg but not just in one spot so I was thinking probably nerve causing the burning. She said that she does not think it is serious and just wants me to talk to my physical therapist about some stretches I can do. She told me there was no reason she could see to go to the chiro but I might try it anyways cause it cant hurt anything but my pocket book...LOL

I am just sick of it hurting. It actually feels better when I where high heels which is why she thinks it is muscles. When I am flat on my feet she said it hurts cause those muscles are tighter.

Oh and just out of curiosity what is RSD?

I am glad my doctor says it is nothing...I can quit being anxious about it...I was actually scared to massage my calf muscle in case it was a clot...silly I know but better to be safe than sorry I guess.
 
well thats good. RSD is the gift that keeps on giving,from hell. my sympathetic nervous system was damaged during a surgery done on my spinal cord to remove what was basically a glob of blood vessels that decided to form up in my c spine cord. if it had not decided to keep bleeding,i would have left it the hell alone,but it had other plans. they managed to damage my SNS and as a result i aquired the RSD,reflex sympathetic dystrophy. no one seems to really understand just why this pain syndrome happens,it just does,to some when the SNS has even just been affected in some ways. it has swelling,heat or cold always hotter or colder in the affected extremity thathe surrounding areas,and very insane spots or blotches or just color changes in the affected extremity or area where this decides to pop up. but the worst is the unrelenting pain that just does not respond to any level of narcotic therepy. so you try all kinRAB of nasty anti S meRAB and other ways to try and manage the pain. its a deep burning and stinging with a deep bone ache i have too. it does affect the underlying bone too to a degree. this can even happen with a severely botched blood draw,believe it or not(all blood vessel constriction and dilation are simply governed by our SNS,so thats the connection). the RSD board here has some really good knowledgable people who have really helped me deal with this crap. but that is what RSD actually is. it just happens under certain conditions. hope that explained it well enough for you.

let us know how the excercises work for you. if they don't,i would seriously have that hip and possibly the knee looked into a little closer maybe? marcia
 
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