What causes leg pain?
Leg pain has many possible causes, including:
Musculoskeletal conditions
This group includes fractures, sprains, strains, overuse injuries, and joint injuries like ligament tears.
Inflammatory conditions
Inflammatory problems leading to leg pain include arthritis, tendonitis, and bursitis.
Vascular conditions
Limited blood flow due to peripheral artery disease, chronic venous insufficiency, and deep vein thrombosis often causes leg pain.
Nerve conditions
Peripheral neuropathy is most often caused by diabetes as uncontrolled blood sugar damages small nerves. You can also develop leg pain from nerve conditions that occur in your spine.
What spine conditions lead to leg pain?
Spine conditions that cause a pinched or compressed nerve can lead to symptoms in your leg, including pain, tingling, and numbness that travel along the nerve. Problems that originate in your spine and may cause leg pain include:
- Sciatica
- Bone spurs
- Spinal stenosis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Herniated disc
- Facet joint osteoarthritis
Slipped vertebra
Changes that naturally occur as you get older, such as thickened ligaments, also cause radiculopathy.
What types of treatment relieve leg pain?
The team at LA Pain Doctor takes the time to carefully examine your leg and order diagnostic imaging if needed to identify the source of your pain. Then they create a treatment plan that draws from a wide range of possible treatments, including:
Physical medicine
Physical therapy and rehabilitation begin as soon your doctor determines it’s safe to start rebuilding leg strength and improving your range of motion.
Interventional medicine
When your leg pain continues despite conservative medical care and physical therapy, it’s time to consider interventional therapies. These treatments target the nerves responsible for sending pain signals to your brain:
Epidural steroid injections
Selective nerve root block
Sacroiliac joint injections
Radiofrequency ablation
Lumbar sympathetic nerve block
You can only feel pain when nerves carry pain messages to the brain and the brain determines what the nerve messages say.
When the nerve signals are blocked, your brain can’t alert you to the problem, so you feel less pain.
Regenerative medicine
Depending on the cause of your leg pain, your doctor may recommend an injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP). When your doctor injects platelets at the site of injured tissues, the platelets release growth factors that accelerate healing and recruit stem cells to the area.
To get expert help with leg pain, call LA Pain Doctor or book an appointment online.
