Buttocks pain, back of calf pain

[teacher_45]

My mom is 58 and is having a terrible time with pain in her right buttocks, going down her leg to her toes, and even in the calf of her leg... stabbing, itching, burning.  We have been to many doctors, from neurologists to chiros and they cannot truly figure out what the problem is.  An MRI showed  two bulging discs and her chiro has done 25 adjustments and she says this is making things worse.  Her back does not hurt much considering she is supposed to have a couple of bulging discs... it is the pain going from her buttocks down that is bothersome. She does not feel that the discs are related to this pain... She lays in bed and cries.  She says she cannot live with this pain anymore.  I am really getting worried.  This has been going on for 10 months.  No car wreck, no injury of any sort... we do not know what brought this on... help..

[Dr Arora]

Hi, The pain of sciatica is typically felt from the low back to behind the thigh and radiating down below the knee. Sciatica is most commonly a result of a lumbar disc herniation directly pressing on the nerve. The pain runs down the leg and may reach the ankle but not necessarily the toes. Over 95 percent of herniated discs affect the L4-5 or L5-S1 interspace. A variety of low back conditioning and stretching exercises are employed to help people recover from sciatica. Surgery procedures can sometimes be required for persisting sciatica that is caused by nerve compression at the lower spine. I hope this helps.

[gymdandee]

P.S. Have your mother buy an Inversion Table It's about $200. It won't cure but will alleviate
the pain!

[gymdandee]

Your mother should take her reports and if she has any MRI CD and make an appointment with a Neurosurgeon and not an Orthopedic! more than likely the discs are pinching the   sciatic nerve. Your mother probably also has Stenosis.

[CuteNsweeT]

I agree with the above two posters; sciatic nerve. I trapped mine a few months ago and it was agony, but thankfully it only lasted a week. Although bed-rest seems like the logical action (or in-action, as the case may be!), it actually helps more to get up and gently walk around, as much as possible. Absolutely no crossing of the legs/ankles when sitting or lying down either, as this just makes it worse. Heat packs/ hot water bottles placed on the origin of the pain (in this case buttock) while lying down help a lot too, and other than that, just strong pain-killers and avoid bending over as that can worsen the pain. I found placing a pillow under my lower back/buttocks when lying flat at night (so I kinda curved up slightly) took the intense pressure off and helped towards relief too, so maybe try that... Best of luck!

[deadgamegrrl]

I agree with Sara.  And I would definitely stop the chiro because it could indeed be making things worse.  If there is no improvement after 25 visits it is definitely not helping!

~~ dgg

[SLadylani]

This sounds like her sciatic nerve has been affected. The scaitic nerve originates in the low back and goes through the buttocks and all the way down the leg to the toes. If irritated, it can cause excruciating pain. This could be irritated by the bulging disks in your mothers back. I would seek urgent help from an orthepedist as sciatic nerve pain is excruciating. Corrective surgery will most likely solve it, but in the mean time, your mom can at least be prescribed adequate pain relief for this type of pain.

Sara-RN