Nerve pain, or neuralgia, is common and can have several causes.
Often the pain is not well pinpointed to a specific spot, but radiates to different parts of the body. It can affect your functioning quite a bit, and it is sometimes difficult to figure out how the nerve pain came about and what to do about it.
This article provides more information about how nerve pain in the leg can occur, common symptoms associated with nerve pain in the leg, what you can do about it and what the role of a chiropractor can be in this.
How can nerve pain in the leg occur?
As mentioned earlier, there are several causes of nerve pain. A common cause is sciatica, in which the sciatic nerve is irritated or inflamed, causing pain in the leg.
Sciatica can be caused by excessive muscle tension, a herniated disc or overuse of the lower back or gluteal muscle. Excessive muscle tension can be caused by prolonged stress or overuse from certain strength exercises. Prolonged sitting can also irritate the sciatic nerve by causing the nerve to be pinched by the muscles around it for long periods of time.
This creates pressure on the nerve running through the buttock to the leg, which can cause radiating pain in the leg. This usually occurs not suddenly, but after prolonged overuse or prolonged irritation of the nerve. Furthermore, diabetes can also cause nerve pain in the legs in some cases.
What are symptoms that fit with nerve pain in the leg?
Nerve pain is an unpleasant pain described as a prickling and burning pain with sometimes sudden, severe stabs of pain.
Also, some areas on the skin, around the area of nerve pain, may feel numb. The area where the nerve pain is located may feel cold or warm.
Further symptoms that may belong to nerve pain in the leg are radiating or pressing pain in the buttock region and pain in the lower back. The pain can last for weeks to months.
What can a chiropractor do for nerve pain in the leg?
It can take a long time to get rid of nerve pain. It is important to continue to get plenty of exercise, such as walking or biking, despite the pain. There are also exercises you can do for nerve pain to reduce the pain, but it is important to know the cause of the nerve pain first.
A chiropractor can help you with this. Through physical examination, the chiropractor can find out when the symptoms are amplified and therefore what is causing the nerve pain.
After this, the chiropractor can perform manipulations on the affected joints, improving the position of the joints and creating more space, for example. Furthermore, muscle tension can be influenced by stretching exercises or dry-needling, for example.
As a result, the tension in the muscles decreases and the nerve will be less overstretched or irritated, reducing the pain.
