HomeAnswersInternal Medicinedisc bulgeI am experiencing severe electric shock-like pain in the right leg when I bend sit. Please help.

What is causing the sudden severe pain below my hip?

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

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Published At May 7, 2022
Reviewed AtMay 9, 2022

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

How bad is it? What has caused it? What are the best way to treat the severe pain? I am now getting down my left leg.

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have read your query and will guide you in your question.

Sorry for such acute discomfort you are having. Can you please explain your symptom of pain in the left leg? What is the duration of left leg pain? What caused it? Is there any swelling in the left leg? Any history of trauma? How did the pain start? What is the initiating factor that leads to present severe pain? Are you taking any medicine for it?

Please give detail about it to guide you further.

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

The right leg. I am taking Lyrica for it, but I am mainly concerned about the opinion of the CT scan of my spine. Unfortunately, my general physician did not give me a diagnosis. Did you see the scan?

There is severe shooting pain when I bend over, sit a certain way, turn my head a certain way, and sit on the toilet. These pains have only been present for about a fortnight or three weeks. I had a scooter crash three months ago.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Sorry for such trauma about three months ago.

How are you now? I hope you are recovering well, both physically and psychologically. Can you attach a computed tomography (CT) scan spine report? Unfortunately, I do not find any report attached. What and where do you have most of the injuries from the above trauma? Do you have any problem with holding urine or any disturbance in the bowel movement? Please attach the report.

Thanks.

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

Thanks so much for such a thorough response. I had a terrible scooter crash about two months ago. I was going in 40 km/h when I came off it and was wearing no protective gear below the waist. I know it is foolish, obviously would not be doing that again, but after that crash, I was referred to get an MRI on my left knee and an X-ray for my left knee and ankle. Nothing was referred for my right leg, which was pretty bad, and also, nothing was referred to for anything else.

I recently started getting chronic back pain in the lower section of my back, it directly correlated to when I started getting this severe shooting pain down my right leg.

It did start from basically the hip, and it was most painful on my upper thigh to the outside. So basically, it ran from my hip to my knee; now it runs down from my knee. I was halfway down my calf and now has progressed to knee down to my ankle, so it has moved down and has gotten more severe as it has moved down.

I feel as though I have only started having these symptoms a maximum of four weeks ago, more probably three weeks ago, and I have no pain whatsoever in my left leg, I have not had since I recovered from the crash. Especially not till recently, since all this new pain happened, the left leg has been entirely unaffected. The pain is electric, that is the perfect way to word it.

What provokes it is when I bend over to pick something up from the ground, when I sit down or stand up from sitting down. Also, when I am sitting down, I can sometimes turn my spine a certain way, making it happen. When I am walking, some time to something specific happens, and it will happen, but I have found that when I am in heaps of pain, standing is the only thing that slightly decreases it. Sitting sometimes, almost always, is worse. Sorry to be so thorough with my answers, but I am sure that is better. I am not sure why I was given a CT as opposed to an MRI. I do not think it is getting taken as seriously as it should be. Clearly, from this lumbar CT scan, I think it should have even been taken a bit more seriously.

I am prescribed Lyrica, which does help with the pain, but I need quite a large dose to relieve that pain. Directly after the scooter crash, I did have problems holding in urine when I needed to go to the toilet, I often would not quite make it before I started urinating. That has now gone away, but directly this pain associated with my spine shoots down my leg. When I am going to do number two, it is pretty painful, not in my buttocks area, but it is time I need to push. It hurts and gives me that shooting pain down my leg.

Also, does not hurt to mention that I have had leg pain my entire life, and I have never known why doctors have never understood why either until last year. I addressed it and had X-rays done on my hips, knees, and ankles, and I will forward those to you now. I will find the MRI and the X-ray of my left knee and ankle from the scooter crash. It was through a different company, but I will find.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Thanks for the detailed explanation of the events and for attaching medical investigation reports (attachments removed to preserve the patient's identity). I saw the files you have stuck of the lumbar spine's computed tomography (CT). There is a posterior disc bulge at the L4/L5 level, moderate central canal stenosis, and bilateral lateral recess stenosis with likely impingement of L5 nerve roots bilaterally. Similar findings at the L5/S1 level with the loss of intervertebral disc height.

All these changes are responsible for the present sharp shooting electric-like pain down from the left upper thigh to the calf muscles of the leg. I can briefly explain all these above terms to you, but the summary of the above findings contributes to the leg's present pain. More compression of the nerve roots through stenosis occurs while doing movements like bending forward and picking up something from the ground, etc., which aggravates the above symptom. Therefore, I would suggest avoiding any such activity which aggravates the pain and do or practice only those exercises or movements guided by a physiotherapist.

It would help if you had a neuro spine surgeon or ortho spine surgeon consultation as early as possible for the above symptoms to detail your findings observed in the CT lumbar spine and different approaches to it. Consulting specialist doctor would guide you through various treatment modalities available like pharmacologic therapy, guided physical therapy, etc. So please get the above doctor consultation as soon as possible to approach the present symptom and likely treatment that could benefit you relieving from pain, including taking tablets. Lyrica (Pregabalin) helps in neuropathic pain.

Thanks.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Basuki Nath Bhagat
Dr. Basuki Nath Bhagat

Family Physician

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