If you are suffering from a lower back and leg pain, it just might be Lumbar Radiculopathy. In case you don’t know what this condition is, it is a kind of chronic pain that is felt mostly in the lower back as well as the legs of sufferers. This is usually caused by some kind of damage that happens to the lower spine of victims. This damage then causes some kind of compression in the nerve roots that exit the spine. This compression ultimately causes numbness, tingling as well as shooting pains that come and go intermittently.
The damage is said to be caused by degeneration (which is also known as “wear and tear” that comes with age or stress) that happens to the outer ring of victims’ discs. It can also be caused by some kind of traumatic injury. In other cases, it can be caused by both the traumatic injury and the degeneration (wear and tear). Rupture may happen to the disc and this eventually causes the pain that most of us know as “sciatica” which shoots down victims’ legs.
Thankfully, however, thanks to the advancement of medical science and technology, this condition known as Lumbar Radiculopathy can be treated. While one of the forms of treating this condition is medically managing it, surgery is also an effective treatment option. For the medical management, victims are educated and given special medications to help them relieve the pains they feel. Special cortisone injection can be given particularly around the spinal cord. Physical therapy is also a way to medically manage this condition.
But of course, before you do anything else about Lumbar Radiculopathy, it’s better to see your doctor immediately if you are experiencing continuous lower back and leg pain. And no, you shouldn’t be too worried because it’s not a life-threatening condition, thanks to the advancement of medical science and technology.