Everyone knows the feeling of loss of sensation in the legs or arms. Staying in one position for a long time or squatting, uncomfortably straining your muscles, you can feel a strong tingling sensation. It continues until the position changes - this is a sign of numbness. You should not be afraid of it - it can be eliminated easily and quickly. It's a completely different matter if symptoms appear frequently and get worse over time. This picture should alert you and prompt a visit to the doctor. After the examination, the specialist leaves a note: “diagnosis: paresthesia.” The patient's age does not matter in this case. The disease can manifest itself in both pensioners and young people.
Of all the types of numbness, partial loss of function of the legs below the knees is the most common, although the thigh area suffers just as much. In the office of a traumatologist, therapist, or vascular surgeon, visitors complain of painful joints, especially when moving, and an unpleasant sensation of needles inside the soft tissues. If such a condition manifests itself sharply, simultaneously in the right and left limbs, then there is reason to suspect serious disorders of the musculoskeletal system. It is necessary to use complex treatment.
Primary causes must be distinguished. In cases where symptoms of numbness appear after prolonged physical activity (hard work, long sports training), there is no need to worry too much. After a few hours of rest and relaxation, functions are restored. The maximum return time is 2-3 days, if an excessive load for the body was applied and the muscles released excess lactic acid. The legs twist, break, the heaviness does not go away for a long time, and sometimes the body temperature rises.
More than 75% of cases of “death” of the hip area are associated with diseases of the spine and infringement of the nerve endings of the spinal cord. Secondary dangers are fraught with:
A sedentary lifestyle, prolonged daily sitting on a chair when the legs hang without support; Pathology of the circulatory system, varicose veins; Poor circulation in the vessels supplying the legs; Damage to areas of the central nervous system responsible for impulses in the limbs.
The disease most often affects people aged 15 to 40 years. The risk group is able-bodied citizens with workaholic tendencies. If you observe symptoms, you must immediately begin to react and take measures:
Burning and pain in the legs. Short-term lack of sensitivity is often repeated or lasts a long period. An unpleasant cold appears. “Running goose bumps” have become more frequent. There is no flexibility in the feet, which is why it is impossible to step correctly. Complicated flexion of the knee joints. Pulling of the tendons in the popliteal cavity.
Uncomfortable body position. At night, during a sound sleep in a motionless state, the muscles become numb. Nerve roots compressed by the weight of the body transmit incorrect impulses to the brain, which leads to numbness. If a person sleeps too deeply, it is necessary to find a way to influence him to sometimes show physical activity. Inactivity. This reason is accelerating the growth every day. Excessive work at the computer or immobility during the same activity requires periodic walks, squats, and exercises. Otherwise, the initial stiffness can degenerate into persistent numbness. Vitamin deficiency. An unbalanced, monotonous diet consisting of harmful synthetic additives and a lack of nutrients leads to loss of skin sensitivity. Caution in following strict diets, meager menus and control over the intake of vitamins, eating fruits, vegetables, meat, milk will eliminate the problem. Loading the ankle area. Sports or tourist runs over long distances, cycling marathons, car rallies end in fatigue. Pain that appears after skating rinks, ski slopes, asphalt walks needs to be calmed with the help of baths and herbal compresses. Inconvenient shoes. You should not think that if boots squeeze your toes, then your hip joints or lower back will be comfortable. Tight boots, shoes and sandals, and hard insoles also impede blood flow, and therefore can cause numbness in the legs above the knee. Taking preventive actions helps to avoid the development of pathology. Experts recommend listening to the general condition of the body.
Risk groups also include people suffering from nervous and heart disorders, pregnant women who are rapidly gaining weight and are prone to anemia. But after childbirth, health returns to normal. Constant tension, stress, headaches prepare fertile ground for paresthesia.
Examination and listening to complaints of stable numbness of the right or left leg above the kneecap leads doctors to conclusions about necrosis of the femoral head, thrombosis, and osteochondrosis. This also indicates the seriousness of problems with the vertebrae, heart, and blood vessels.
Experienced consulting surgeons and neurologists are able to recognize internal diseases from the external picture. They will see an intervertebral hernia and suspect a tumor formation or disc displacement.
Paroxysmal pain after prolonged sitting, bending the leg at the hip, sensation of a foreign object in the groin, compression of the buttock indicate damage to the roots of the nerves at the exit of the spinal column. In most cases, the front of the thighs goes numb (in 60% of examined patients).
Such dysfunctions may indicate lumbar osteochondrosis, sciatica, sciatica, neuralgia or inflammation of the sciatic nerve, spinal stenosis as a consequence of the degenerative dystrophic process. A common provocateur is Bernhardt-Roth and Raynaud's disease tunnel syndrome. This ailment is caused by malfunctions of the aorta after frostbite of the II-III degree, or previous infections.
The factors causing the disease are progressive alcoholism, post-infarction or stroke conditions, minimizing vitamin intake - everything that interferes with the normal passage of impulses from the periphery to the brain center.
Alcoholism as a cause of numbness
Extensive diagnostics will allow you to respond in a timely manner and eliminate the accidental diagnosis of a pseudo-diagnosis. Only knowledge of a complete medical history will give the doctor the opportunity to narrow down their list and help the sick person make a decision. Concomitant or provoking are always defined as:
Varicose veins, vascular disorders; Hemorrhoidal stroke; Transient ischemic attack lasting from several minutes to 24 hours; High concentration in the blood of toxic substances (alcohol derivatives, drugs, medications) leading to intoxication of the body; Forms of diabetes; Multiple sclerosis; Deviations in the functioning of the thyroid gland; Frostbite, traumatic consequences; Mental abnormalities.
Not only a survey will help a professional understand, but also general tests, ultrasound examination of organs, magnetic resonance imaging, X-rays, Doppler control, tests for oncological lesions.
Oncology test
If the lower back has been bothering you for 2-3 years and the disease is accompanied by a burning sensation in the legs above the knees or tingling, then 6-8 months of constant pain in the outer part of the buttocks - these are the main signs of paresthesia. The muscles hurt when walking, the skin feels bad when it is touched and pressed lightly. Sometimes current discharges pass through tissues. Distortion of the functionality of nerve roots and capillaries is formed equally on the right or left, regardless of the side, and is capable of migrating and moving to the superficial layers. In runners, jumpers, and figure skaters, the right kicking leg is at greater risk.
The groin becomes numb - you can suspect meralgia paresthetica, analgesia, vertebrobular radiculopathy. There is intermittent claudication when moving or interfering balls are indicated if you bring the bent leg to the stomach while lying down.
The outer and back parts of the surface of the thighs become numb – intervertebral hernia, sciatic nerve neuralgia. Raising the outstretched leg upward will outline the signs more clearly.
The sacrum is responsible for the internal part. It is rarely damaged, so it is necessary to examine urological, proctological areas and gynecology in order to have comprehensive information.
You cannot approach the choice of treatment methods narrowly, one-sidedly. In each case, this should be a complex of 2-5 methods, including medication courses (tablets, injections), physiotherapy, traditional and non-traditional practices.
Acupuncture, physical therapy exercises, massages, electrophoresis, phonophoresis, ultrasound, saturation of blood vessels with oxygen, and fortified foods remain popular and effective.
It is possible to alleviate painful conditions at home if you have folk remedies at hand.
Lubricate the numb area with honey and wrap it in cotton cloth, insulate it and leave overnight. In the evening, rub in the prepared cucumber tincture. Cut three pickled cucumbers into pieces, add the same amount of chopped hot pepper. Pour half a liter of alcohol, leave for 7 days. Compress from an alcohol extract of lilac flowers. Leave the petals, picked at the peak of flowering, infused with vodka in a dark place for 2 weeks. Apply a patch moistened with the solution for 1-2 hours or while you sleep, wrap the compress in parchment paper. Stir ammonia and camphor oil (50 ml each) in equal proportions. Add one liter of chilled boiling water and shake. Rub in a clockwise massaging circular motion. Decoctions and infusions of horse sorrel, parsley, birch bark, sweet clover, tricolor violet, and nettle. They will saturate the organs with trace elements, natural amino acids, and help cleanse and dilate blood vessels. Homeopathic remedies are powerful auxiliary levers in eliminating numbness of the extremities above the knees. Among the preventive harmless juices are squeezed apple with pulp, carrot, tomato, and pumpkin.
In case of advanced forms or exacerbations, you must immediately contact a medical institution for emergency help so as not to miss, under the guise of numbness, the initial stages of more life-threatening diseases associated with the heart, cerebral cortex, and internal organs, which are difficult and expensive to treat.
When your leg starts to go numb from the hip to the knee, you shouldn’t panic. This condition usually occurs due to excessive physical activity and goes away on its own. However, you should be wary if your leg goes numb quite often and this happens for a long time. This is already a reason to see a doctor and undergo an examination. So why does my leg go numb from the hip to the knee? Let's try to find out the reasons for this.
In approximately 70% of cases, patient complaints are related to numbness in the anterior thigh. In severe cases, when the musculoskeletal system is affected, patients note that not only the leg from the hip to the knee goes numb, but also pain occurs in the perineum, groin, buttocks, abdominal cavity and lumbar region. Usually this condition is characteristic of an intervertebral hernia.
The medical terminology for numbness is paresthesia. This is a violation of sensitivity, accompanied by a feeling of numbness, goosebumps, and burning. Paresthesia usually occurs as a result of prolonged mechanical compression or irritation of the superficial nerve bundle, as well as due to a temporary disruption of the blood supply to a certain area of the body. This type of numbness is called transient, as it goes away quite quickly. For example, if a person sits for a very long time, the leg begins to go numb and tingle.
Chronic paresthesia is already a pathology and quite often indicates damage to some part of the nervous system.
If your leg goes numb from the hip to the knee, the reasons may be the following:
Osteochondrosis is considered the most common cause of numbness in the legs. With this disease, the nerve is compressed, which disrupts the conduction of impulses to the organ and back. In addition to disruption of the innervation of the area, the vessels in the spine begin to reflexively become pinched, aggravating the situation. Osteochondrosis occurs due to low physical activity or lack thereof and can develop at any age. Intervertebral hernia is also a common cause of numbness in the leg from the hip to the knee. With this disease, the intervertebral discs are displaced, causing the roots of the spinal cord to fall into the wrong place. the spinal canal, where they should be, but end up between the articular discs. As a result, they are constantly exposed to injury, causing numbness. Atherosclerosis is a disease characterized by the appearance of cholesterol plaques that attach to the walls of large vessels and gradually clog their lumen. This leads to the fact that oxygen ceases to flow to organs and tissues, and blood circulation slows down. Muscles and joints also begin to experience oxygen starvation, and a feeling of numbness and tingling occurs. Atherosclerosis is caused by excess weight, bad habits, and high levels of cholesterol in the blood. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the joints. Swelling of the joint capsule leads to compression of the nerve, causing numbness. Neuropathy - this disease is characterized by a complete loss of function of the nerve endings. The patient experiences a feeling of tingling, pain, burning, numbness, itching, and the legs begin to swell greatly. Low physical activity often leads to the leg going numb from the hip to the knee. If your legs are constantly motionless, then in addition to numbness, you can develop osteochondrosis. Therefore, people whose profession involves staying in one place for a long time without moving should pay much more attention to the health of their feet. It is necessary to devote 5-10 minutes to exercise every hour, which will prevent any disease of the legs. Pregnancy also provokes numbness of the lower extremities. At this time, the woman’s body begins to rebuild, and the blood flow is directed through the umbilical arteries. There is a feeling of numbness in different areas of the skin.
In addition to these common reasons, there are others:
Long-term alcohol abuse. Mental abnormalities and disorders. Treatment with medications, the side effect of which is a negative effect on blood vessels and nerve endings. Diseases of the thyroid gland. Trauma to the spine, hips, lower extremities. Diabetes mellitus.
Depending on which area of the leg has lost sensation, the doctor is able to determine the disease that caused this pathological condition.
If the left leg from hip to knee goes numb, just like the right leg, this is usually observed with polyneuropathy. If such a pathological condition covers the groin area, this is a clear sign of Bernhardt-Roth symptom or radiculopathy. Both of these diseases are hereditary.
If one leg is numb, this indicates problems with the spine, and usually the lesion is observed on the side of the affected leg. Pain in the lumbar region may also occur. A pathological condition in the knee area or slightly below it indicates that the sciatic nerve is pinched.
Also, if your right leg goes numb from the hip to the knee, this may be due to the characteristics of your professional activity. This also applies to the left leg.
Numbness and pain that occurs in the upper thigh may indicate carpal tunnel syndrome. It is characterized by the fact that the neurovascular bundle passes through a very narrow canal and is compressed. The outer and posterior surfaces of the thigh usually become numb with radiculopathy and herniated discs. Pain in the gluteal muscle may also occur.
If your leg goes numb from the hip to the knee when walking, there is lameness, a feeling of crawling, then problems with the cardiovascular system are likely.
Despite the pronounced symptoms that indicate the cause of numbness in the legs, diagnostic measures must be carried out. They include the following examination methods:
radiography; ultrasound; computer or magnetic resonance imaging; analysis of blood plasma for the level of vitamins and minerals.
If your leg goes numb from the hip to the knee, what should you do? You need to see a doctor. Only timely treatment can bring positive results and guarantee complete relief from this disease. If numbness in the leg bothers a person for a long time, then in advanced cases atrophy of nerve fibers and roots develops. The disease becomes chronic, and there is a high probability that the feeling of numbness will occur periodically throughout your life.
In addition, weakness and pain in the leg may increase. A restructuring of the musculoskeletal system is possible, and then the body weight is transferred to the healthy leg, which leads to curvature of the spine. There is also a high probability of disorders of the nervous system, manifested in the form of depression.
Thus, if the leg from the hip to the knee goes numb, treatment should begin with getting rid of the factor that is the cause of this pathological condition. In case of diseases of the spine, the entire musculoskeletal system is carefully examined and correction is carried out to prevent the development of new symptoms.
Treatment includes the use of the following drugs and activities:
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (“Nimesulide”, “Diclofenac”), available in the form of tablets, ointments, injections; general health-improving drugs and B vitamins; muscle relaxants (“Tizanidine”, “Baclofen”) relieve muscle tension and restore their tone; nootropic drugs (“Piracetam”, “Cavinton”) restore and improve blood flow; therapeutic exercises help activate muscle function and relieve discomfort; physiotherapy helps restore nerves (paraffin baths, mud baths).
In addition, surgical intervention is possible to eliminate compression of the nerve roots due to hernia or protrusion of discs, as well as osteochondrosis.
If after the examination no serious illness was identified, and the cause of numbness in the leg is insufficient physical activity, then it is recommended to spend more time walking. The walking time must be increased gradually so that the legs do not become overstrained. It is advisable to have orthopedic shoes so that the pressure when walking is distributed evenly not only to the leg muscles, but also to the entire spine.
Thus, if the leg from the hip to the knee goes numb, the sooner the treatment is carried out, the greater the likelihood of getting rid of such a pathological condition without any consequences. Early diagnosis of a serious disease, the symptom of which is numbness of the lower extremities, helps stop the development of the disorder in the body. You should not neglect your health, but rather use preventive measures to prevent diseases.
Numbness of the lower extremities is a fairly common problem that worries both the elderly and young people. In this article we will try to find the causes of numbness in the leg up to the knee/above/below the knee. Also, let’s pay attention to what can be done in a situation where your legs go numb?
In medicine, complete or partial loss of sensation in the lower extremities is called numbness or paresthesia. Most often, patients experience numbness in the area below the knees.
In this case, you will hear complaints such as: unpleasant tingling in the lower extremities, pain in the joints when moving. With a sharp one-time numbness of the lower extremities, a suspicion of diseases of the musculoskeletal system immediately arises.
At best, a person may experience numbness as a result of prolonged physical labor or after intense training in the gym. Then the numbness, as a rule, goes away after a few hours - a maximum of a few days. The lower limbs may become numb when a person applies a load that is unusual for the body. In this case, the muscles begin to secrete lactic acid in excess. The legs are painfully twisted, broken, causing painful sensations to the person.
If numbness occurs, it is imperative to consult a traumatologist, therapist and vascular surgeon.
Before we begin to describe the unpleasant symptoms of numbness in the legs above/below the knee, we will provide some statistics. About 80% of cases associated with numbness of the lower extremities are associated with diseases of the spine and musculoskeletal system.
In second place are problems that are associated with a sedentary lifestyle, as well as pathologies of the circulatory system, diseases of the central nervous system that nourish the legs.
Numbness of the lower extremities most often occurs in people aged 16 to 45 years. That is, this is a working-age population that spends most of its time at work.
Symptoms of numbness in the legs above/below the knee:
There is a feeling that something is burning and painful in the legs; Complete or partial loss of sensitivity; Feeling of unpleasant coldness in the legs; Feeling of goosebumps; Inability to step on the soles of the feet; Difficulty bending the legs at the knee.
Doctors recommend additionally paying attention to how the patient feels, does he have a headache, does his heart hurt, does his temperature rise with numbness, is his blood pressure stable, is there any gastrointestinal disorder? If you can fully describe to the doctor all the unpleasant symptoms that are bothering you, this will speed up the diagnosis.
Of course, the reasons for numbness in the legs above/below the knee may come down to heredity. That is, if your first-degree relatives - mom, dad, sister, brother, as well as grandparents - had problems with the lower extremities, then this is more likely to happen to you too.
Further, a fairly common reason is an unhealthy lifestyle - if a person eats poorly, has a long history of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, then all this will definitely affect physical well-being.
The most common causes of numbness in the legs above/below the knee can be:
Pathological changes in the spine, namely osteochondrosis - as a rule, osteochondrosis occurs due to compression of the nerve endings in the spinal cord. With numbness of the lower extremities, there is a loss of sensitivity in the lower extremities. Intervertebral hernia - if a person has a rupture of the fibrous ring, then in this case a gradual displacement of the disc core begins. As a result of pinched nerve endings, the sensitivity of the lower extremities begins to decrease.
Treatment of pathologies such as osteochondrosis and intervertebral hernia should occur exclusively under the supervision of a doctor. You cannot help yourself on your own.
If a person has a history of diagnosed diseases such as diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, then their consequence may be the occurrence of neuropathy. With neuropathy, rapid damage to the nerve endings of the lower extremities begins. In such cases, therapy should cover not only the restoration of the sensitivity of nerve fibers, but also the treatment of the underlying disease that led to this pathology.
If numbness of the limbs began in an elderly patient (over 50 years old), then the cause should be sought in a disease such as atherosclerosis. With the acute and progressive development of atherosclerosis, a person experiences symptoms such as: weakness throughout the body, increased fatigue, pain during movement, pain when bending the knee.
With multiple sclerosis (this is damage to the nerve tissues of the spinal cord and brain), an unpleasant symptom such as numbness/stiffness begins to occur. Treatment is carried out in the inpatient department of a medical institution.
There is another reason for numbness in the knees above/below - the little-studied Raynaud's disease. This pathological course is characterized by impaired blood circulation in the lower extremities. A person complains of unpleasant spasms and convulsions in the lower extremities.
Any treatment for numbness of the lower extremities should begin with a visit to a specialist. The therapy for restoring lost sensitivity necessarily includes physical exercise.
Even in old age, it is recommended to pay special attention to the load on the lower limbs. In particular, you can start with walks in the fresh air, swimming, cycling. It is important to promote increased blood circulation using loads on the lower extremities.
Next, you definitely need to exclude coffee/strong tea/alcohol/smoking from your daily life.
For six months, when I stand or lie down, my left leg from hip to knee has gone numb (also sometimes tingling and “stinging”). I would be very grateful if you advise me on methods of treating this very unpleasant disorder.
We are probably talking about sciatica, a syndrome that occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched by an intervertebral hernia. Much less commonly, sciatica can be caused by a bone growth or tumor in the spine. The intervertebral disc is a layer between the vertebrae that acts as a shock absorber that prevents the vertebrae from rubbing against each other. Each disc consists of a jelly-like center (medically called the nucleus pulposus) and a hard outer shell (annulus fibrosus). If for some reason, for example, as a result of injury or simply due to age-related changes in the body, a crack or rupture appears in the fibrous ring, the nucleus pulposus can be squeezed out through this hole and exit into the spinal canal formed by the vertebral arches. Having entered the spinal canal, the hernia can compress the nerve endings that are located in it. In addition, proteins of the nucleus pulposus cause chemical irritation of the nervous tissue. It is this irritation that, in most cases, provokes the appearance of pain and/or other symptoms, such as numbness and tingling sensations, weakness along the nerve. These sensations can be in the lower back, hip, upper or lower leg, foot, or even toes and are typically worse when sitting and better when lying down or walking. Risk factors for sciatica include a sedentary lifestyle, sedentary work, obesity and diabetes. In addition, pinched sciatic nerves are often observed in people whose work involves lifting and carrying heavy objects.
In any case, to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment, we recommend undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a device with a voltage of at least 1 Tesla. Among modern research methods, only MRI results can provide a complete picture of the condition of not only bone, but also various soft tissues of the spine: ligaments, nerves and intervertebral discs.
If you have pain in the lower back or leg, then you can consult a neurologist at one of our Moscow Clinics. Sign up for a consultation (free for citizens of the Russian Federation).
Stayer Healthy Spine Clinic
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