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Can MS cause sciatic nerve damage?

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    Can MS cause sciatic nerve damage?

    My condition started with severe leg pain that is sharp and stabbing only when I twist my left leg in certain directions. Next, both legs would go numb, then my whole body. Experienced many other symptoms of MS since then as I wait for an MRI and consult with the neurologist next month. I seem to experience the same and new pains and symptoms every day but the leg pain (feels like sciatic nerve or ?) is always there and slowly getting worse. There are a lot of materials on MS pain but mostly just muscle & joint pain so I was wondering if anyone experiences pain like this. It feels like my leg is going to break and I cannot bend it at all in certain directions.

    #2
    I don't know if there is any connection between MS and sciatic nerve problems. I have had back pain for most of my adult life. Last year, I had a surgery on my spine. I was diagnosed with MS about 3 years earlier. I was never told by any doctor that there was any connection between my MS and my spine problems. I hope that you find a doctor that can give you some good advice. Good luck

    Comment


      #3
      "Sciatic nerve" might not have anything to do with your leg pain and limited movement. But even if that is what's actually going on with your leg, it doesn't have anything to do with MS.

      Multiple sclerosis affects only the central nervous system, which consists of the brain (including the optic nerves) and the spinal cord. The sciatic nerve is part of the peripheral nervous system, which is everything outside the central nervous system. MS does not affect peripheral nerves. Since the sciatic is a peripheral nerve, it is not affected by MS.

      Also, because the damage caused by MS is contained inside the central nervous system, symptoms are not affected by the position of body parts. If your pain occurs only when your leg is in certain positions, that's a "mechanical" cause that could be affecting peripheral nevers and is not caused by MS. MS also does not directly cause joint pain.

      So it sounds like you are having orthopedic issues and peripheral nerve issues, but those are not caused by MS. An examination by an orthopedic specialist or a neurologist can give you an idea of what's really going on. Good luck.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by MSer102 View Post
        "... because the damage caused by MS is contained inside the central nervous system, symptoms are not affected by the position of body parts. If your pain occurs only when your leg is in certain positions, that's a "mechanical" cause that could be affecting peripheral nevers and is not caused by MS. MS also does not directly cause joint pain."
        I appreciate your feedback but am curious to know where you are getting some of your information that has you insisting that MS is not linked to any kind of "mechanical" issues?
        I have found what I believe to be some reliable sources on MS that may suggest otherwise:
        There are also some types of pain related to MS that are described as being chronic in nature -- lasting for more than a month -- including pain from spasticity that can lead to muscle cramps, tight and aching joints, and back or musculoskeletal pain.
        Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclero...sclerosis-pain

        In extreme cases, spasticity can cause a person’s body to become distorted and twisted, almost as if they’re folded up like a pretzel.
        Retrieved from http://www.health.com/health/gallery...9076_6,00.html

        …pain can also be musculoskeletal, resulting not from nerve damage, but from impaired gait that causes misalignment of the hips and spine.
        Retrieved from http://www.health.com/health/gallery...9076_8,00.html

        Comment


          #5
          Maybe I wasn't clear, and maybe you misinterpreted what I said. Your question wasn't about spasticity and the difficulty it causes. Your question was about sciatic nerve damage and pointing out that your issues occurred only when pushing on a peripheral area and holding your leg in a particular position. While MS causes spasticity and secondary mechanical problems, what you described didn't involve that.

          MS does not affect peripheral nerves, and is not the direct cause of positional pain. Secondary issues of spasticity and musculoskeletal pain are a separate discussion. It sounds like you've confused primary causes with secondary causes, and taken information out of context and misapplied it to the questions you originally asked.

          It's possible that spasticity caused by MS may have caused muscle cramping that has impinged your sciatic nerve and caused pain, but MS did NOT directly cause the damage to your sciatic nerve. Although the secondary effects of MS can be mechanical, MS is a chemical disease of the central nervous system, not a mechanical disease of the musculoskeletal system, or a mechanical or chemical disease of the peripheral nervous system.

          Disease modifying medications for MS do not treat the peripheral nervous system or secondary mechanical problems. Those are treated with separate symptom treatment medications. The two are entirely different, again illustrating the important differences between the primary disease and the secondary effects, which are NOT the disease itself.

          Comment


            #6
            MSer
            I do understand what you are suggesting and again I thank you for your input. I guess I should have asked if symptoms of MS can cause sciatic nerve damage..and you did answer that question. My purpose of the thread however, as stated, was if anyone experienced similar pain to what I am experiencing along with other symptoms of MS and I was merely suggesting that it feels like the pain may be from the sciatic nerve.

            You are right in that I should not have implied that my leg pain is caused by MS. I do apologize if I am in any way misrepresenting the disease. I will be more careful in future posts to not assume that issues I experience are directly related even when it may seem that way..but that is why I started this thread in the first place and the purpose of any of these threads...To ask questions and get support!!-right?

            Also, I am still interested in knowing how you know for a fact that MS has absolutely no affect on the peripheral nervous system and only the central nervous system. Is this what a doctor has told you, or something you have read, or ??? I see plenty on how MS affects the CNS but have not see where it denotes the PNS. I am really trying to find out as much about this disease as possible so any ideas where to find accurate information is appreciated~ especially since it seems, through reading many other posts, that not all neurologists will even be reliable in that department!!

            Thank you!

            Comment


              #7
              MS Leg Pain and Sciatic Nerve Pain Question

              Originally posted by Mrs. Toodawgs View Post
              MSer
              I do understand what you are suggesting and again I thank you for your input. I guess I should have asked if symptoms of MS can cause sciatic nerve damage..and you did answer that question. My purpose of the thread however, as stated, was if anyone experienced similar pain to what I am experiencing along with other symptoms of MS and I was merely suggesting that it feels like the pain may be from the sciatic nerve.

              You are right in that I should not have implied that my leg pain is caused by MS. I do apologize if I am in any way misrepresenting the disease. I will be more careful in future posts to not assume that issues I experience are directly related even when it may seem that way..but that is why I started this thread in the first place and the purpose of any of these threads...To ask questions and get support!!-right?

              Also, I am still interested in knowing how you know for a fact that MS has absolutely no affect on the peripheral nervous system and only the central nervous system. Is this what a doctor has told you, or something you have read, or ??? I see plenty on how MS affects the CNS but have not see where it denotes the PNS. I am really trying to find out as much about this disease as possible so any ideas where to find accurate information is appreciated~ especially since it seems, through reading many other posts, that not all neurologists will even be reliable in that department!!

              Thank you!
              This is a great thread. Thanks Mrs. Toodawgs & MSer for contributing. I have done a lot of research about MS since my diagnosis but couldn't remember much about Peripheral nerve pain. Just did some quick searching and the following tidbit did show up:

              "Peripheral neuropathy describes damage to the peripheral nervous system, the vast communications network that transmits information from the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) to every other part of the body. What causes peripheral neuropathy?
              Peripheral neuropathy may be either inherited or acquired. Causes of acquired peripheral neuropathy include physical injury (trauma) to a nerve, tumors, toxins, autoimmune responses, nutritional deficiencies, alcoholism, and vascular and metabolic disorders. Acquired peripheral neuropathies are grouped into three broad categories: those caused by systemic disease, those caused by trauma from external agents, and those caused by infections or autoimmune disorders affecting nerve tissue. One example of an acquired peripheral neuropathy is trigeminal neuralgia (also known as tic douloureux), in which damage to the trigeminal nerve (the large nerve of the head and face) causes episodic attacks of excruciating, lightning-like pain on one side of the face. In some cases, the cause is an earlier viral infection, pressure on the nerve from a tumor or swollen blood vessel, or, infrequently, multiple sclerosis. In many cases, however, a specific cause cannot be identified. Doctors usually refer to neuropathies with no known cause as idiopathic neuropathies."which is an article at:

              http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/p...neuropathy.htm

              As far as pain, back pain and leg pain go. I have persistent neuropathic pain in my lumbar most of the time and the rest of my back and neck some of the time. As per MRI's of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine I do not have any bone or disc damage or nerve impingement. I do have a cervical lesion and tons of tumefactive sized lesions in my brain so I am unsure where this pain comes from.

              I have had my hip x-rayed because I also started with pain in it and the x-ray was normal. So my neurologist then attributed that pain to MS. I have NOT had any leg pain going down the backs of my legs that would indicate sciatic nerve damage. But I have had electric shocks go down the right front thigh that made my leg jump and kick out when I was driving one time. Hasn't happened again thankfully.

              Last night I had right side groin pain that traveled down into my thigh, the hip was hurting quite badly as well and then I had a terribly painful spasm in my foot that bent my big toe inward. Heat and massage and Baclofen finally fixed that up. I did also take my magnesium.

              Recently I have been having more knee and ankle joint pain and plan to have my regular PCP do a rheumatoid factor test since my Grandma on my Mom's side and my Aunt on my Dad's side have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

              A lot of my pains can be made worse depending on how I am sitting or standing. I am not sure if that is due to the cervical lesion or?

              If you haven't had your spine MRI's - if you still feel what you have is sciatic nerve pain they should be checking for problems there just to be sure. I did see a spinal specialist/surgeon when they ruled out bone problems and or nerve impingement.

              Sorry so long. Have a great day!!
              Hugs,
              Danielle
              LDN'er since 2007

              Comment


                #8
                Lovetherams,

                Thank you so very much for your reply and for providing support to what you have found, it is very informative. And thank you for sharing your personal experiences. I am sorry that you have the problems you have but it is nice to know that not everyone is within the norm, so to speak, with their symptoms that can really only be explained by their MS, where others may treat you as though it is just all in your head (no pun intended).

                I can't imagine that what is going on with my leg has nothing to do with everything else going on in my body or that what is going on with my body is only linked to my leg, which really does not make any sense or even seem possible. I am going for my cranial MRI next week (getting nervous) and then seeing a neurologist at the end of the month, so hopefully between the two I can find out what is going on.

                Thanks again, and thank you for the kind and understanding reply!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Trigeminal neuralgia doesn't exactly count. It certainly can have causes that directly effect the body of the nerve, making it strictly peripheral neuropathy. However, when MS is involved in TN, it's due to brain stem or upper cervical lesions, where the trigeminal nerve originates (10 of the 12 cranial nerve pairs do), not damage to the body of the nerve itself. It's another one of those cases where pain has its source in the CNS and is felt elsewhere.

                  http://www.ajronline.org/doi/full/10....176.1.1760247

                  http://www.neuroanatomy.ca/cranial_n...al_nerves.html

                  MS does indirectly cause pain from spasticity, and directly from parasthesias and neuropathic pain. It can fake you out and make you feel pain that doesn't have any "real" cause other than the MS just playing with you. I've had pain in my legs that felt similar to sciatica, searing pain down my arms, and a burn that spans from spine to sternum, from underarm to halfway down the ribs, among other things.

                  MS is so much fun.

                  Also from NINDS, about MS:
                  http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/m..._sclerosis.htm

                  Comment

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