Almost all of us have experienced back pain at least once in our life. But, did it ever occur to us that maybe the back pain can be related to the mal-alignment of our foot and leg as well?
The back pain can be just a local pain or it may be radiating to the leg, this radiating leg pain coming from the back is termed as the “Sciatica pain”.
Sciatica results from the compression of the spinal nerves coming from lower back that makes up your sciatic nerve.
Common spine-related causes of sciatica include:
- Herniated disc
- Degenerative disc disease
- Degenerative spondylolisthesis
- Isthmic spondylolisthesis
- Lumbar canal stenosis
The radiating pain can sometimes also be due to the malalignment of the foot and the legs.
On the other hand, the local foot pain can also be due to the multiple nerves present in our foot which gets pinched or irritated within the foot itself like in case of tight shoes or possibly high heels where a nerve can be pinched and can provoke a burning or electric-like sensation.
Additional to this, a corn may develop in or around your toes. Corn can grow over time as a result of excessive friction, and they can compress nearby nerve and may cause pain or other possible symptoms. Another possible cause of your foot pain can be Morton’s neuroma, which is thickening of the tissue around the nerve in your foot.
Irrespectively, it is important that you schedule an appointment immediately with your doctor to receive an accurate diagnosis as to the cause of your back and/or leg pain. This is due to the fact that you need to treat the underlying cause of it, and not just the symptoms of it and the treatment can differ wildly like-
- Selective exercises and stretches
- Rightsize footwear
- Customized insoles
- Gait and balance training
- Medications if indicated