Numbness in calf and foot, lower back pain
September 15, 2017 11:09 AM Subscribe
Suddenly, running --> intense left calf and foot pain and numbness, and sex --> lower back pain in an otherwise healthy young woman. YANAD, but I've been to the doctor twice already. Do I need to go again?
Background info: 23, female, in shape/otherwise healthy, I walk 2.5+ miles each day and run x2 week (approx. 2 miles or sprints).
Last week: I experienced sudden numbness in my left calf and foot. No obvious event preceded it; I had last run a few days before. It worsened (felt tingly when I sat for a few minutes), so I went to see a doctor on Thursday. She recommended that I rest over the weekend and see a sports doctor who could assess it further.
Monday: I see the sports doctor. After resting all weekend, I experienced periods of numbness for a few hours at time, but overall felt better. However, I had intense lower back pain (for the first time) for several hours one day of the weekend after having sex. By the time I saw the doctor, the back pain and numbness went away. He poked me and stretched me and found nothing (and said it probably wasn't spinogenic); he recommended stretches for my lower back and says this pain likely caused the numbness.
So I've been doing the stretches and walking (but not running) as usual. Two days ago, I had pretty bad back pain after sex again. (I should mention that nothing unusual happened during sex that would have precipitated the back pain both times.) Since I'd experienced no numbness all week, I thought I'd go for a light run last night. As soon as I started, I felt this sharp, immediate pain and numbness in my left calf and foot and had to stop. However, regular and brisk walking are fine.
Miscellaneous, potentially relevant info: last period began 2 weeks ago (so 1 week before the onset of numbness) and was heavier than normal. I've had the Paragard IUD for 6 months. I experienced patellofemoral syndrome two years ago.
TL;DR: Suddenly, running --> intense left calf and foot pain and numbness, and sex --> lower back pain in a healthy young woman.
I know that you are not my doctor, but I've seen two doctors already, so I'm looking for any advice before I go back again. Current plan is to do the recommended lower back stretches and wait it out, but running is stress relief for me, so I'm pretty bummed that I can't do it right now.
Thank you very much!
Background info: 23, female, in shape/otherwise healthy, I walk 2.5+ miles each day and run x2 week (approx. 2 miles or sprints).
Last week: I experienced sudden numbness in my left calf and foot. No obvious event preceded it; I had last run a few days before. It worsened (felt tingly when I sat for a few minutes), so I went to see a doctor on Thursday. She recommended that I rest over the weekend and see a sports doctor who could assess it further.
Monday: I see the sports doctor. After resting all weekend, I experienced periods of numbness for a few hours at time, but overall felt better. However, I had intense lower back pain (for the first time) for several hours one day of the weekend after having sex. By the time I saw the doctor, the back pain and numbness went away. He poked me and stretched me and found nothing (and said it probably wasn't spinogenic); he recommended stretches for my lower back and says this pain likely caused the numbness.
So I've been doing the stretches and walking (but not running) as usual. Two days ago, I had pretty bad back pain after sex again. (I should mention that nothing unusual happened during sex that would have precipitated the back pain both times.) Since I'd experienced no numbness all week, I thought I'd go for a light run last night. As soon as I started, I felt this sharp, immediate pain and numbness in my left calf and foot and had to stop. However, regular and brisk walking are fine.
Miscellaneous, potentially relevant info: last period began 2 weeks ago (so 1 week before the onset of numbness) and was heavier than normal. I've had the Paragard IUD for 6 months. I experienced patellofemoral syndrome two years ago.
TL;DR: Suddenly, running --> intense left calf and foot pain and numbness, and sex --> lower back pain in a healthy young woman.
I know that you are not my doctor, but I've seen two doctors already, so I'm looking for any advice before I go back again. Current plan is to do the recommended lower back stretches and wait it out, but running is stress relief for me, so I'm pretty bummed that I can't do it right now.
Thank you very much!
Have you tried a chiropractor? Our sports doctor recommended a combo of chiro and pt after a sports injury, it worked a treat.
posted by vignettist at 11:53 AM on September 15, 2017
posted by vignettist at 11:53 AM on September 15, 2017
I have had episodes of numbness/burning in my right calf with some pain in my right foot. At one point my doctor thought it was caused by an infection. After a couple of rounds of antibiotics it turned out to be related to my extremely flat feet. The pain wasn't localized to my shin, but it seems like my ortho said the cause was something akin to shin splints. In my case the cure was orthotics to compensate for overpronation. Anything that affects your gait can also lead to back pain so whatever the problem is causing the calf/foot pain could be messing with your back. With muscle spasms/pain there's also the possibility it has something to do with hydration or magnesium/calcium/potassium.
posted by Carbolic at 12:00 PM on September 15, 2017
posted by Carbolic at 12:00 PM on September 15, 2017
Is gait analysis an option? Not sure about the back pain, but your running style/habits could contribute some secondary effects. I'm not a "body out of balance" guy, but these parts are all hooked together.
posted by rhizome at 12:33 PM on September 15, 2017
posted by rhizome at 12:33 PM on September 15, 2017
Anemia, and/or b-12 deficiency?
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:01 PM on September 15, 2017
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:01 PM on September 15, 2017
Sounds like siatica to me, but I'm not a medical professional.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:07 PM on September 15, 2017
posted by sciencegeek at 2:07 PM on September 15, 2017
Best answer: I've been struggling with extreme tightness, soreness, and discomfort in my calves down to my heels and ankles. Recently a couple bodywork sessions have revealed some interesting things:
- my glutes may not be firing well. Some simple exercises shown to me to help activate the glutes, seem to have a helped a bit (but not completely).
- after describing my situation, a bodywork professional suggested my QLs might be tight. I hadn't thought so because I used to have a lot of back tightness and pain, and haven't been feeling that as much - i.e. the lower leg/foot discomfort was way beyond anything I was feeling in my back. But she went in there and sure enough, both my QLs were tight as hell, esp the left one, the same side as where I was feeling the most discomfort in the my left lower leg. The explanation was: tight QL will left the hip, which will left the hamstrings and IT band, which will pull on the muscles in the lower leg. So, TL;DR - maybe the problem's not in the feet or calves, but elsewhere, in my lower back and hip.
- I can imagine many sex acts engaging (or possibly over-engaging) the QLs. :-)
To be clear, none of my situation includes "sharp pain" or the kind of numbness you describe. That does sounds like maybe sciatica, like others have said. Maybe your piriformis or one of the other small under-butt muscles is acting up, leading to nerve impingement.
Also, numbness in the extremities could be related to a vitamin B deficiency, though I don't remember which one - B12 or B6 . Ask your doctor.
Good luck!
posted by armoir from antproof case at 4:33 PM on September 15, 2017
- my glutes may not be firing well. Some simple exercises shown to me to help activate the glutes, seem to have a helped a bit (but not completely).
- after describing my situation, a bodywork professional suggested my QLs might be tight. I hadn't thought so because I used to have a lot of back tightness and pain, and haven't been feeling that as much - i.e. the lower leg/foot discomfort was way beyond anything I was feeling in my back. But she went in there and sure enough, both my QLs were tight as hell, esp the left one, the same side as where I was feeling the most discomfort in the my left lower leg. The explanation was: tight QL will left the hip, which will left the hamstrings and IT band, which will pull on the muscles in the lower leg. So, TL;DR - maybe the problem's not in the feet or calves, but elsewhere, in my lower back and hip.
- I can imagine many sex acts engaging (or possibly over-engaging) the QLs. :-)
To be clear, none of my situation includes "sharp pain" or the kind of numbness you describe. That does sounds like maybe sciatica, like others have said. Maybe your piriformis or one of the other small under-butt muscles is acting up, leading to nerve impingement.
Also, numbness in the extremities could be related to a vitamin B deficiency, though I don't remember which one - B12 or B6 . Ask your doctor.
Good luck!
posted by armoir from antproof case at 4:33 PM on September 15, 2017
Best answer: (and said it probably wasn't spinogenic);
yeah uh he is a doctor and I am not but he is probably wrong unless that means something other than what it sounds like. and that is exactly what I was told three excruciating months before getting the MRI that revealed several giant disc herniations and nerve root impingements right where it made sense for them to be. everyone was so surprised because I hadn't been screaming, out of politeness. your age and willingness to keep trying to run after such a scary event is working against you, in that if you aren't collapsing and crying in front of a doctor they will default to assuming muscle spasms, no disc issues, and just send you to PT until you become so persistent they finally agree to do some kind of test just to get some peace. Nothing wrong with PT no matter what the cause, except that if they give you exercises based on the assumption of no spine injury and they're mistaken, it can harm you.
of course, maybe he was right and maybe you are basically structurally sound and just need more stretching. but, although I do not and would not ever advise lying to doctors, especially about really important stuff like this, I would note that most back specialists have a part in their questionnaire where they ask about impairment of sexual functioning. if you say Yes it freaks them right out and gets you more attention than you may otherwise command. now, what they mean by that is a specific scary nerve thing that is not what you've apparently got -- but if you say (truthfully!) that you are not able to have sex because of repeated sudden-onset pain and numbness in your general lumbar/hip/pelvic region, that may create some urgency in whoever you say it to. or not. but the way you approach describing these things has a lot of impact on the response you get.
this is all mainly for if it alarms you to not know for sure what is wrong. If you already know you can't afford/don't want an MRI, ignore all the above, try to wait it out and do nothing more high-impact than walking and be very careful with all your stretching or physical therapy. You probably can get back to regular running but let it heal first or it will be bad. it may take a while, try to be patient and not despair.
posted by queenofbithynia at 11:46 PM on September 15, 2017
yeah uh he is a doctor and I am not but he is probably wrong unless that means something other than what it sounds like. and that is exactly what I was told three excruciating months before getting the MRI that revealed several giant disc herniations and nerve root impingements right where it made sense for them to be. everyone was so surprised because I hadn't been screaming, out of politeness. your age and willingness to keep trying to run after such a scary event is working against you, in that if you aren't collapsing and crying in front of a doctor they will default to assuming muscle spasms, no disc issues, and just send you to PT until you become so persistent they finally agree to do some kind of test just to get some peace. Nothing wrong with PT no matter what the cause, except that if they give you exercises based on the assumption of no spine injury and they're mistaken, it can harm you.
of course, maybe he was right and maybe you are basically structurally sound and just need more stretching. but, although I do not and would not ever advise lying to doctors, especially about really important stuff like this, I would note that most back specialists have a part in their questionnaire where they ask about impairment of sexual functioning. if you say Yes it freaks them right out and gets you more attention than you may otherwise command. now, what they mean by that is a specific scary nerve thing that is not what you've apparently got -- but if you say (truthfully!) that you are not able to have sex because of repeated sudden-onset pain and numbness in your general lumbar/hip/pelvic region, that may create some urgency in whoever you say it to. or not. but the way you approach describing these things has a lot of impact on the response you get.
this is all mainly for if it alarms you to not know for sure what is wrong. If you already know you can't afford/don't want an MRI, ignore all the above, try to wait it out and do nothing more high-impact than walking and be very careful with all your stretching or physical therapy. You probably can get back to regular running but let it heal first or it will be bad. it may take a while, try to be patient and not despair.
posted by queenofbithynia at 11:46 PM on September 15, 2017
Best answer: Back pain plus pain and numbness in the calf and foot are textbook symptoms of a lumbar herniated disc. I've had one and experienced those symptoms, but mine were more consistent than what you've described. Also I had back pain alone for several months before the stuff in the calf and foot started.
I would not run with these symptoms. I did, and eventually my symptoms got way worse and required surgery. But on the other hand, rest isn't really the best treatment for back issues, or so I was told. I took up swimming instead (and did prescribed physical therapy exercises).
I also had a sports med doc tell me multiple times that I didn't have a herniated disc and it wasn't worth getting an MRI. After my symptoms got worse, I went to an orthopedic specialist who immediately sent me for an MRI, which revealed two huge herniations. My advice: find an orthopedic or neurosurgeon with a good reputation and see what they think.
posted by crLLC at 5:33 AM on September 16, 2017
I would not run with these symptoms. I did, and eventually my symptoms got way worse and required surgery. But on the other hand, rest isn't really the best treatment for back issues, or so I was told. I took up swimming instead (and did prescribed physical therapy exercises).
I also had a sports med doc tell me multiple times that I didn't have a herniated disc and it wasn't worth getting an MRI. After my symptoms got worse, I went to an orthopedic specialist who immediately sent me for an MRI, which revealed two huge herniations. My advice: find an orthopedic or neurosurgeon with a good reputation and see what they think.
posted by crLLC at 5:33 AM on September 16, 2017
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posted by vivzan at 11:46 AM on September 15, 2017