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Leg and Back Pain
Leg and back pain frequently develop at the same time and could have a significant impact on your ability to perform everyday tasks. If you have leg and back pain, the experienced physicians at Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County can help. They use non-surgical treatments and advanced interventions like steroid injections to relieve leg and back pain, as well as specialized forms of spine surgery where necessary. To find a resolution for your leg and back pain, call the office in Bloomfield Hills or Clarkston, Michigan, or book an appointment online today.
Leg and back pain frequently develop at the same time and could have a significant impact on your ability to perform everyday tasks. If you have leg and back pain, the experienced physicians at Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County can help. They use non-surgical treatments and advanced interventions like steroid injections to relieve leg and back pain, as well as specialized forms of spine surgery where necessary. To find a resolution for your leg and back pain, call the office in Bloomfield Hills or Clarkston, Michigan, or book an appointment online today.
What is leg and back pain?
Leg and back pain are common problems. Acute leg and back pain occur suddenly and are present for a short period of time — muscle strains and overuse often cause acute leg and back pain. Chronic leg and back pain usually affects you every day and lasts for months or years.
Leg and back pain frequently occur together because back conditions can cause nerve compression (radiculopathy) in your spine that affects the nerves serving your legs. Sciatica, which results from pressure on the large sciatic nerve at the bottom of your spine, is the most common form of radiculopathy and a frequent cause of leg and back pain.
What conditions cause leg and back pain?
Some of the conditions causing leg and back pain that Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County sees most frequently include:
Spinal arthritis
Arthritis — pain and inflammation in the joints — can affect the facet joints linking your vertebrae and the sacroiliac joints in your pelvis, both of which can cause leg and back pain.
Spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis is where a vertebra slips forward onto the bone below. It can cause pain and instability.
Spinal stenosis
Spinal stenosis is where the spinal canal narrows due to arthritis or other changes in your spine. It can cause pain that worsens when you walk and improves when you bend forward or sit down.
Vertebral compression fractures
Vertebral compression fractures are most often due to having weak bones from osteoporosis. They can cause spinal deformity and chronic pain.
Herniated discs
Discs are spongy shock absorbers in your spine. Pressure on a disc, especially one that’s weakened from degenerative disc disease, can cause the soft interior to bulge or push through the tough exterior, where it may press on your nerves.
What treatments are available for leg and back pain?
Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County typically resolves most types of leg and back pain using non-surgical treatments such as:
- Rest and activity modification
- Anti-inflammatory medication
- Heat and ice
- Physical therapy
- Use of a back brace
When these treatments don’t have the desired results, spinal injections might help. Epidural, sacroiliac, and facet joint injections contain steroid medication that has a long-lasting anti-inflammatory and a short-acting local anesthetic. Nerve blocks containing anesthetic are also valuable for diagnosing leg and back pain.
Kyphoplasty, which is a minimally invasive process for treating vertebral compression fractures, is also available at Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County.
Would I need surgery for leg and back pain?
If other treatments aren’t working, you might require surgery for your leg and back pain. Options include:
- Decompression (laminectomy)
- Discectomy
- Microdiscectomy
- Spinal fusion
- SI joint fusion
Where it’s possible to do so, the surgeons at Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County use minimally invasive techniques to perform spine surgery.
To find the cause of your leg and back pain, call Orthopedic Specialists of Oakland County or book an appointment online today.