Why Can't I Feel my Leg? -Dr. Bill Chura, Biology

At some point in our lives, the years of abuse to our body from sports, exercise, or simply poor mechanics and posture catches up with us. The wear and tear on joints are felt in the morning as we roll out of bed or in some cases throughout the entire day. The realization that invincibility is no longer and transitioning our thought processes to evaluate risk prior to attempting strenuous activity becomes the norm. Most recently, I woke up fine, but as the morning progressed my back began to hurt and numbness started down my right leg. The pain persisted and my leg positioning could not alleviate it. Fast forward through some of the most painful days of my life. I currently have trouble walking and am constantly distracted by the relentless throbbing shooting down my gluteus muscles and anterior thigh. The culprit is a nerve whose passageway has been narrowed by inflammation and a bulging disc. Spinal nerves are claustrophobic in a way, where they don’t want anything near them. Each spinal nerve courses out of an opening (foramen) designed for its travel to innervate muscles/organs of the body. This opening is typically posterior to the cartilaginous disc that is separating each vertebrae. As this disc slides posterior (bulging), it narrows the foramen where that nerve is traveling and can brush against it. If air simply blows on a nerve, the pain could be substantial. So a disc pressing on the nerve, sends incredible pain to the part of the body where the nerve innervates. These areas are referred to as dermatomes and are a map for assessing spinal nerve damage. In this case, my right leg has gone numb and the pain radiating distally in my right gluteus muscle, hip flexors and upper leg is unbearable. Because of these symptoms in these specific areas, doctors can determine the source of pain must be in the lower lumbar spine. I can’t feel my leg because of the swelling and inflammation in my back! Knowing the dermatomes of the body allow us to understand how crucial the nervous system plays in orchestrating our normal movements. No nerve or pinched nerve, results in no or severely weakened movement. Next time you have severe muscular pain somewhere in the body, see if you can trace it back to the source so treatment can begin. Also, don’t get old……..