Introduction
The femoral nerve is one of the largest nerves of the leg. The nerve supplies each side of the body's muscles and helps strengthen the legs, knees, and hips. It also provides the sensation of pain, touch, and temperature from the legs to the brain. Any injury or dysfunction to the femoral nerve can lead to dysfunction of the legs, including hips and knees. The damage can lead to pain, weakness, numbness, and sometimes paralysis of the leg. The article describes the femoral nerve, injury, causes, dysfunction, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and complications.
What Is the Femoral Nerve?
The femoral nerve is the largest nerve that supplies the leg of each side of the body. It has a motor function that helps to move the legs, hips, ankles, and feet. In addition, the sensory function provides the sensation of pain, touch, and cold or hot temperatures. The nerve starts in the pelvis and separates into several branches. These separate branches control the movement of the leg. For example, the femoral nerve helps bend the hips and knee extension. In addition, the peripheral nervous system sends signals from the brain to the limbs and some organs.
What Is Femoral Neuropathy?
Injury to the femoral nerve can lead to the dysfunction of the legs, known as femoral neuropathy. As a result, a person cannot move their legs and does not feel the part of the leg. This can be due to injury, pressure, or damage to the nerve leading to sensation changes and leg weakness. The symptoms include pain, burning, and numbness in the leg. For example, a person cannot fly up the stairs. With medications and physical therapy, the condition can be treated.
What Are the Causes of Femoral Nerve Injury?
The femoral nerve is located near the groin and controls the muscles of the legs. If an injury to the femoral nerve, the person cannot walk properly. Femoral nerve injury is uncommon, but there are various nerve injury causes, including:
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A direct injury.
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Accident.
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Excessive pressure on the nerve due to the tumor or cysts.
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Pelvic or leg fracture.
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Hemorrhage or internal bleeding in the pelvis or the space behind the abdomen.
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Wearing too-tight belts.
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Holding the legs flexed for a long time.
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Lying on back with legs bent at ninety degrees.
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Radiation to the pelvis.
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Specific surgical procedures like a catheter placed into the femoral artery.
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Prolonged pressure on the nerve due to obesity or pregnancy.
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Certain metabolic diseases can cause femoral nerve injury, including diabetes. Diabetes can cause nerve damage due to the fluctuation in the level of blood sugar.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Femoral Nerve Injury?
The main symptom associated with the nerve injury is difficulty moving around. In addition, the leg and the knee become weak, and the person cannot put pressure on the affected leg. Symptoms can affect the legs and hips. The femoral nerve consists of sensory and motor functions. Due to the nerve injury, there may be motor loss and sensory impairment. The symptoms include:
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Motor Loss: There may be poor hip flexion due to the paralysis of the sartorius and iliacus muscles. A person cannot extend the knee because of the quadriceps femoris muscle paralysis.
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Sensory Impairment: The sensory nerve supplies the medial and anterior aspects of the thigh. Due to the injury to the femoral nerve, there may be a loss of sensation in the medial side of the leg.
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Foot, ankle, and leg muscle weakness.
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Muscle loss in the legs.
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Numbness in any part of the leg.
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Loss of coordination and sensation.
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Dull aching pain radiates from the back to the front of the legs, hips, and knees.
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Burning and tingling in the leg.
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Sometimes, nerve injury may lead to paralysis of the leg.
How Can Femoral Nerve Injury Be Diagnosed?
The healthcare provider may perform a physical examination for knee reflexes. In addition, the doctor may check out the symptoms and ask the patient about past injuries, surgeries, and any metabolic disorders to find out the cause of the femoral nerve injury. Finally, the healthcare provider may further prescribe the tests to determine the diagnosis. These include:
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Electromyography: It measures the muscle's electrical activity and the nerves' functioning. Electrical signals are sent through the nervous system to measure electrical activity.
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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or Computed tomography (CT) scan: The doctor may prescribe MRI and CT scans to look for bone fractures, injuries, tumors, and muscle damage.
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Neuromuscular Ultrasound: The doctor may prescribe the ultrasound to check the nerve and muscle damage, inflammation, and tumors.
How Can Femoral Nerve Injury Be Managed?
The healthcare provider may prescribe the treatment based on the injury's cause and the nerve damage extent. For example, if pressure is the cause of nerve damage, then relieving pressure can cure the condition. If the underlying cause is diabetes, then treating diabetes may alleviate the symptoms and prevent the disease from worsening.
The treatment includes
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Medication: A doctor may recommend a local anesthetic nerve block. The nerve block is injected around the nerve to stop the nerve from sending pain signals to the brain. The treatment is prescribed in case of a knee injury, a hip replacement, or a broken hip. In addition, the doctor may recommend steroidal injections or non-steroid anti-inflammatory medications to ease the pain and nerve inflammation.
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Surgery: The doctor may recommend surgery in case of tumors pressing the femoral nerve. Femoral decompression surgery may help in relieving the symptoms.
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Lifestyle Remedies: Some lifestyle changes may help in managing the symptoms. If people can avoid activities that put pressure on the femoral nerve may help in relieving symptoms.
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Physical Therapy: The doctor may recommend flexion, stretching, or strengthening exercises to improve strength and mobility. The physiotherapist may advise the patient to stretch slowly and in a controlled way.
Conclusion
The femoral nerve is the longest nerve that helps strengthen the leg muscles. Several causes include injury, fracture, pressure to the nerve, or diabetes. The damage to the femoral nerve may lead to a person unable to walk properly, pain, and inflammation in the legs. Removal of the cause may help in relieving the symptoms. The healthcare provider may prescribe the medications to ease pain and inflammation. The physiotherapist may advise the patient to do flexion and stretching exercises slowly and in a controlled way. Lifestyle activities may also help in treating the condition.
