hip an dleg pain - pinched nerve?

[tallpaul]

My symptoms started with mild numbness in my legs when I laid in bed at night. From there it gradually evolved into pain in my hip, which seemed to be aggravated by playing racquetball or other sports. Lately I have had mild cramping in both legs, strange tingling sensations in both legs and on the bottom of my left foot. The muscles in my legs get very tight and painful and so I find the need to stretch them all the time. I also recently have had a mild burning sensation in my left leg. My left leg is definitely worse than the right, but I still have some symptoms in my right leg. I have almost no back pain. I have had 2 MRIs, physical therapy, seen 2 chiropractors, 2 x-rays and no one can seem to find anything wrong. Advil seems to help. Prednisone clears up all symptoms, but they just come back afterward. I have tried natural anti-inflamatories with little success. The chiropractor adjustments seemed to make things worse. The chiropractor says it is a lack of proper curvature in my lower spine, but I was not sre whether to believe him or not. I tend to think it is a pinched nerve somewhere in my spine (rahter tan my hip), since I have symptoms in both legs.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what this could be? Does the fact that both MRIs showed nothing say that it is not a pinched nerve?

[DRTRED]

To TallPaul,

Try another Chiropractor! They are definitely not all the same. Get reference from friends. Dont pick the person with the biggest ad! Usually the really good ones dont have to advertise. Find someone who practices old school chiropractic. Simple is better. The Palmer method or The Gonstead method. You might have to give it 3 months to a year to see lasting results. Slow gentle adjustments. Nothing forceful. An adjustment should never hurt after. A dull ache for a day or so might be acceptable just from something being moved. Also remember pinched sciatic nerves take time to heal even after they are unpinched. It is called DeWallerian Degeneration. IN other words it takes time. Often times the nerve becomes more symptomatic before it begins to "cool" down. Be patient and keep trying.

[jagr71]

I am 30, 5-10 200 lbs. In very good shape. I workout on a regular basis. I recently went to a chiropractor to have a slipped rib put back into place. In the process of doing that. The Chiropractor realigned my C1, C5,6 and my lower back L5, 6. Since then I get tingling in my Left leg and left arm. I have not had these problems before I went to the chiropractor. I believe these are pinched nerves. Anyone know what I can do about this? I would appreciate the input.

[jagr71]

I am 30, 5-10 200 lbs. In very good shape. I workout on a regular basis. I recently went to a chiropractor to have a slipped rib put back into place. In the process of doing that. The Chiropractor realigned my C1, C5,6 and my lower back L5, 6. Since then I get tingling in my Left leg and left arm. I have not had these problems before I went to the chiropractor. I believe these are pinched nerves. Anyone know what I can do about this? I would appreciate the input.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-PW]

My advice is limited by not knowing your full history, age etc

Problems in the spinal cord can cause 'stiffness' or spasticity in the legs (this should also be apparent in a good neurological examination), and sensory symptoms in the legs. However they do not localize to any specific part of the spinal cord unless you have upper extremity symptoms as well. THerefore if you have just had a lumbosacral MRI, a cervical and thoracic spine MRI should be done also. Sometimes a 'tethered cord' may cause such symptoms - the lower end of the spinal cord is tight and stretched - this should be looked for carefully. A pinched nerve in the legs can cause weakness and sensory symptoms but not 'stiffness' - the EMG examination can be more sensitive sometimes than MRI at picking this up, but will not useful if the problem lies in the spinal cord

Good luck

[johnflox]

Tallpaul:
You might consider consulting your pharmacist records to check whether you were prescribed quinolone antibiotics, like cipro or levaquin. A rapid consultation online on the symptoms caused by that antibiotics can be done at www.fqresearch.org and
www.fluoroquinolones.org
This will help you to rule out some very frequent causes of neuromuscular disorders.

[johnflox]

How long have you been suffering that symptoms?
Has it been ruled out lyme and autoinmune diseases like lupus?
Did you take powerful antibiotics, cholesterol lowering drugs, or rheumatics up to one year prior to the onset of your symptoms?

[tallpaul]

Johnflox,

Thanks for the questions. I went to the lupus website and none of the symptoms seem to apply to me. I also checked out the lyme disease site and none of those symptoms applies. I have been having these pains for about a year to a year and a half, but they are progressively getting worse.I may have had some antibiotics (really can't remember), but certainly none of the other two drugs you mentioned. Oh, just FYI, I am 35 and otherwise healthy.

One question I do have is about an MRI. During both of my last two MRIs, my symptoms happened to be almost non-existent. I just wonder what would show up if I had the MRI on a bad day. The orthopedic doc said it didn't matter, and I agree that it would not if the problem were a bulged disk or something major like that, but if there is just an intermittent inflamed nerve or joint then would I have to have the MRI on a "bad" day for something to show up?

I saw my regular doctor today and she recommended seeing a neurologist (don't know why I haven't before now) and possible doing a nerve transit study (ok, maybe not the correct technical term) like they do for carpal tunnel as a means to isolate the pinched nerve. Does anyone have any thoughts on the effectiveness of that technique.

Thanks to all in advance for your input.

Paul