You can travel through your legs and end in your feet with a series of spinal nerves. When these spinal nerves irritate or pull up the nerve roots (part of the nerve as it leaves the spine), there can be foot pain. There may also be foot pain when your nerve is compressed near your hip, knee, or foot. You must consult pain management doctors to get relief from pain.
Foot Pain from a Spine Problem
Irritation or compression of the nerve root in the lower back or the lumbar or sacral spine can cause sciatic pain in your leg and foot. In particular, an S1 nerve root compression, also known as classic sciatica, can cause pain on the outside of your foot.
Because of a number of causes, nerve roots can be compressed or irritated. Examples common include:
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Lumbar herniated disc: Intervertebral disk leakage of the inner content
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Degenerative disc disease: Age causes the disc to narrow and shrink.
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Spondylolisthesis: a slip of a vertebra
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Lumbar spinal stenosis: reduced openings for spinal nerves and/or the backbone
Nerve Compression in the Hip, Knee, or Leg Causes Foot Pain
Foot pain may also occur when the nerves in the hip, knee, or leg are compressed or damaged. Examples include:
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Peroneal neuropathy, a condition when the peroneal nerve is compressed or wounded near the knee, can cause foot pain.
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Sciatic neuropathy or sciatic nerve damage in the pelvic region (hip), with a degree of weakness, can cause foot pain along the top of your foot.
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Tarsal tunnel syndrome or tibial nerve dysfunction can cause severe, sharp pain in your ankle area and along your foot’s sole.
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Sural nerve trapping on the leg or near the ankle can generate pain outside the ankle or foot.
How Can the Source of Your Foot Pain Be Identified
Identifying the exact underlying cause with all possible causes of nerve pain in the foot can be difficult. Here are some useful signs for identifying the source of pain in your foot:
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Foot pain following recent trauma may help to identify the site of nerve damage on the lower back and hip, knee, or ankle
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Foot pain from the nerve root or sciatica compression can also be linked to other symptoms, such as pain, numbness, and/or weakness in the flesh, thigh, or leg.
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Foot pain that occurs after using tight boots or shoes can indicate compression of the peroneal or sural nerve close to the knee.
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Sciatic neuropathy may be shown by foot pain that develops after hip injection or hip surgery.
Sciatica Foot Pain Symptoms, Location & Relief Options
Sciatica Symptoms
The lumbar spine begins to worsen and weaken as we grow older. This can affect the sciatica nerve and lead to sciatic symptoms, including:
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Pain
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Weakness
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Tingling
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Slow reflex
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Muscle spasm
The sciatic nerve is very important because the sensory and motor information is sent to a large proportion of the lower organ. The sciatic nerve sends commands for fundamental movements, like walking and sitting. If this nervous system in the lumbar spine is constrained, inflamed, or compressed by degenerative spine conditions in the lower back, the symptoms are called “sciatica.” Sciatica foot pain relief can be exercised with exercise & following treatment options.
Treatment Options
Once the cause of your pain has been diagnosed as sciatica, a number of conservative treatment options can be recommended. The problem can often be handled adequately by a combination of these treatments. These could include:
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Change of activity
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Anti-inflammatory and non-steroid drugs
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Epidural injections
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Exercises
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Stretching
If these prudent approaches to sciatica management fail, the underlying cause of surgery may need to be considered.
Contact us at Oklahoma Spine & Pain Management for pain management doctors in OKC or for any spinal problems.
**Disclaimer: This content should not be considered medical advice and does not imply a doctor-patient relationship.
