Is the Problem in Your Spine Causing Your Foot Pain?

Many of us have experienced nerve pain in our foot, usually caused by a pair of bad shoes. There are many nerves in your foot, and these can be irritated inside of the foot itself.

In some cases, your foot pain may be caused by the problem in your spine, precisely said, in your lumbar spine (lower back).

The pain that begins in the lower back and reaches the leg calls sciatica. Sciatica comes from the compression of your lumbar spinal nerves.

Sciatica Symptoms

This problem gives rise to sciatica symptoms along the sciatic nerve in the leg. The pain may then go down the nerve into your foot.

Symptoms of sciatica can be the following:

Pain in the lower part of the back

Pain in the rear

Pain in the leg

Hip pain

Burning sensation or tingling down the leg

Difficulty moving the leg or foot

Weakness or numbness in the leg

A shooting pain when trying to stand up

Causes of Sciatica

Spine-related causes of sciatica are the following:

Lumbar spinal stenosis – Spinal nerves are compressed and that leads to pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the foot. Non-surgical treatment is necessary.

Lumbar herniated disc – The common cause of leg pain. Symptoms are muscle cramping, weakness or even loss of leg function. Bending intensifies the pain.

Isthmic spondylolisthesis – A lumbar spinal condition in which one vertebral body slips on top of the vertebral body which is below it.

Lumbar degenerative disc disease – Natural breakdown of a spinal disc. It results in pressure put on the nerves in the spinal column. Symptoms are pain and weakness.

To be able to understand conditions of lower back, we need to learn about sciatic nerve.

Sciatic Nerve

Sciatic nerve is the largest single nerve in the human body. It is composed of five nerves which are joined at the lower part of the spine. Sciatic nerve goes through the back of each leg reaching the toes. It connects the spinal cord with the muscles in the leg and foot.

How can you find out whether lumbar spine problem is causing your foot pain?

See if you’re having both lumbar spine pain and leg pain at the same time. Also, see if it’s hard for you to bring your foot up and you are experiencing the heaviness or weakness in your foot (called foot drop).

Regardless of what the cause of your sciatica is, it will not pass away alone. The symptoms can only get worse. That’s why the proper treatment is necessary.

Get the Appointment with Your Doctor

Contact your doctor to diagnose the cause of your pain. It’s important to treat the cause and not just the symptoms. Depending on your diagnosis, you will go through different treatments.

If your spine is the source of your pain, contact us.