Pain down my leg from my back: what is it?
Pain that runs from your back into your leg can come from an irritated nerve, or it can be referred pain from joints and muscles in the back or hip. A physiotherapist can tell the two apart by testing how you move and how your nerves respond.
Two common types
Nerve-related pain tends to be sharper, may follow a line down the leg and can come with tingling or numbness. Referred pain from joints and muscles is often more of a deep ache that spreads into the buttock or thigh, and it rarely goes below the knee.
Clues worth noticing
- Where the pain travels and how far down it goes
- Whether you feel tingling, numbness or weakness
- What makes it better or worse, such as sitting, walking or bending
- Whether it changes during the day
What to do now
Stay gently active, avoid sitting for long stretches and try position changes that ease the pain. If the leg symptoms last more than a week or two, spread lower, or limit your walking, book an assessment.
Seek urgent medical care if you notice numbness in the groin or inner thighs, loss of bladder or bowel control, sudden severe leg weakness, calf swelling, warmth or redness, or fever with pain.
At Performance Sports Therapy, our physiotherapists can work out which type of pain you have and build a plan to match.
Related: should I see a physiotherapist or a chiropractor for low back pain or sciatica?, how soon after an injury should I see a physiotherapist? and what should I expect at my first physiotherapy appointment?
Want to know what is behind your leg pain?
Questions? Call 613-742-1230 or email info@pstottawa.ca. Find us at 5-5303 Canotek Rd, Ottawa.