leg/arm numbness starting after back pain

[mac_249]

Low back pain started ~4 months ago, mainly at nighttime while sleeping.  Progressed to full blown back pain, bad enough to make dr. appt.  Prescribed muscle relaxant.  Helped with back pain, but then started to developd left leg numbness/heaviness feeling, as well as numbness in left arm and left side of face.  Referred to neurologist--MRI and X-rays done of lumbar spine, MRI of cervical spine and brain. Nothing abnormal found.  Blood work done (thyroid checked since have nodule, Lyme's disease, etc.)--all normal.  Neurologist diagosed symptoms as those of complex migraines.  I do get headaches on occasion, but they have not been worse recently.  I question the fact that the numbness started concurrent with back pain.  Back pain is now gone, but numbness remains. Arm numbness is mostly on outside of arm, down pinky finger.  Leg numbness is like tingling feeling, heaviness to leg.  No weakness in limbs.  Are there any other possible explanations for these symptoms?

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

Its not clear to me, when the numbness started in realtion to the back pain, and whether it has persisted

numbness that occurs in the face arm and leg on the same side at the same time localizes to the right brain - if the MRI is completely negative, then migraine is a possibility. On the other hand if the MRI was done after the symptoms had resolved then it still could have been a small stroke, or a demyelinating episode (like MS)

Aside from the facial numbness, your numbness could be due to pinched nerves in the neck/arm or leg, although the MRI is good at picking these up in the neck. An EMG of the arm and/or leg might shed further light. It is hard to tell for sure, as I haev not examined you or have your full story. Another test to tell if numbness is significant or not, and to localize it somewhat is a somatosensory evoked potential study which may also be a good idea
Good luck

[mcash]

I have also have a similar problems.  Mine also happens only at night when I am sleeping.  I wake suddenly to a loud ringing in my ears and my vision gets strange.  I then get numbness running down my arms and then my face.  I had a MRI that showed I have a bugling disk in my neck.  I forgot which one it was but there was also some narrowing of some canal.  My problem being that there are several other things happen also.  Sometime the numbness is still there during the day on my face.  I sometime get numbness even on my stomach and legs during the day.  But that comes and goes.  I also get sudden cramps in my back, hands and feet at night.  So bad they wake my up.  If i sit to long in a chair i get a terrible spine and head ache.  It feels like my spine is pushed up into my head.  During the day sometimes I am clumsy with my hands and feet. Drop things for no reason or my foot drags and i almost trip.  But these things only happen once in a while but they have been happning for a few years.  I don't know if this is all related to the disk problem or if something else is wrong.

[TeriStr]

A related discussion, pain in back/numbness tingling hands/ft was started.

[Rider64]

A related discussion, leg/arm numbness was started.