Leg & Foot Pain

  For the past 8 months I have been selling on the internet.  I sit in a cushioned chair which places pressure on the upper rear muscle of my left leg.  I noticed this pressure from the frame of the chair but didn't think much of it until my left leg began to have pain going down the back and into my foot.  There is no pain while sitting or lying, only when I stand or walk.  Occasionally, my foot becomes numb on the bottom.  I also have, what feels like a knotting-up of a section of my foot between my big toe and second toe.  This is localized to a section about the size of a marble.  There is no pain but this feels like something stuck between my toes when I walk.  If I massage the underside of my foot, this goes away but comes back when I stand to walk again.  This is why I feel it is some sort of a cramp or muscle spasm.  I have switched the padded chair and don't have direct pressure on that section of my leg but the condition continues.  Could this be some sort of muscle/nerve inflamation (inflammation) and is there medication that would speed the recovery process, such as an anti-inflamatory medication?  I have tried OTC Ibuprofen but this doesn't seem to be helping much.  Thanks in advance for your assistance...Mike.

[CCF neurology MD MM]

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The symptoms you describe are suggestive of a problem in the area of
distribution of the sciatic nerve
In particular I am impressed by the fact that the pain goes down the back
of your leg and the fact that you have numbnes on the sole of your foot ,
which is supplied by the first sacral root of the sciatic nerve.
This would imply to me that your problem is more likely to be related to
a problem in the lower spine than in the leg, which fits with the failure to resolve by cahnging the chair ets.
I would suggest that this need to be investigated by means of an EMG or an
MRi scan of the spine, either of which can be obtained by conbsulting a
neurologist.
At this point you really should have some testing done rather than simply
treating the symptoms with OTC medications.