Numbness in foot and pain in leg

[mavan]

I have been having numbness in my foot and pain in my leg for about 3 weeks now. The pain extends from my groin and hip area. My thigh feels sore, my calf has random pain as does my foot when it is not numb. The pain changes and it is not always in the same area. My foot when it is numb is either a feeling of pins and needles or being out in the cold too long like frost bite.
My doctor sent me for a x-ray saying it was probably a pinched nerve, but the x-ray came back normal. Now he wants me to go to physical therapy. He prescribed Napresen but it isn't helping.
Does any one have any ideas? The pain and numbness seems to be getting worse.

[TonyD]

Do you have any back problems.Never heard of an xray being able to find nerve problems.Only ct scan and mri.That is probably were you need to start.

[mavan]

No back pain at all. I didn't think the x-ray would show that, but why do it then? Thanks for the suggestion.

[Felsen]

Is it just one of the legs? Left or right? How old are you? Male or female? Does it help having your legs higher up? Do you have the pain when you wake up in the morning?

[mavan]

It was one leg now it's both legs. But it isn't constant and there doesn't seem to be anything that makes it better...standing, siting, heat, raising it, etc. I am a 28 year old female.

[Felsen]

In which leg did it start? Do you see any swelling, especially aound the ankle? Do you have any varicose veins?

[mavan]

It started in my right leg and goes from the bottom of my foot up to my hip and groin area. No I don't have any swelling in either leg, but I do have vericose veins in both.

[Felsen]

It could be a real long shot, but I’ll mention it anyway. There is a condition called May-Thurner syndrome. It is when the right iliac artery compresses the left iliac vein against the spine. This causes the blood to congest in the left leg because it can not normally pass the compression on its way back to the heart. It dos not necessarily results in the pain at the compression site (if it does it gives a lower back pain), most often it causes pain or swelling or both in the left leg. If you have a compression like this, after a while your circulatory system is trying to develop alternative veins. They are called collateral veins. Most often there are transpelvis collaterals (horizontal ones from left to right in pelvis), but some patients can develop them near the spine or even inside it. Then it can give pressure on nerves and give numbness and tingling sensation in legs. Another typical symptom is ambulating pain, the pain moves around depending on where the pressure is high at the moment.

This can sometimes be seen in the right leg, because of different individual anatomy.

This condition is vastly underdiagnosed. It is impossible to discover with ultrasound and even difficult to discover with venography (phlebography). The only certain way to discover it is by means of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) where the probe is inside the vein. The best research has been done by Neglén and Raju in Jackson, Miss. The treatment is to put a stent inside the vein at the site of the compression. The typical patient is a young – middle-aged woman, previously healthy where the doctors have not found other explanation for the symptoms.

Could this possibly help? The best of luck!

[mavan]

Thank you. I have an MRI of my lumbar spine scheduled, but I will keep this in mind if it the MRI doesn't reveal anything.

[Ike]

In which leg did it start? Do you see any swelling, especially aound the ankle? Do you have any varicose veins?

When i get up in the morning and stand at one place for some time, my left foot starts feeling icy-cold, gets numb and the numbness moves upwards along the left leg. Sometimes the ball and socket joint of my left hip becomes so painful. Pain and numbness subsides when i walk around a lot. Just about two weeks now, I have noticed a swelling that is not painful on my left wrist. Looks like a varicose vein.