Leila came to my office complaining of lower back pain, shooting pain from the low back and left buttocks down into the leg, pins and needles and numbness in her left leg all the way down to her toes, and severe muscle cramps behind her knee and in her calf. Her cramps were severe at night. She reported suddenly waking up one morning with these symptoms, and she was in a lot of pain when I saw her. Leila is a 54 year old stay at home mom, who does daycare out of her home as well as computer related work from her home office.
Leila limped into my office, as she could barely put any weight on her left leg. After taking the history, I proceeded with my assessment. She had difficulty bending forwards and backwards. Her back was painful when pressure was applied. She had difficulty moving around and getting up, especially after being seated for a long time. Her hamstrings were relatively flexible, although tighter on the left. Her piriformis (a muscle deep under the gluts in the buttocks) was very tight and almost in spasm. A large knot had develped in her calf. Her entire leg was numb. Twisting movements were painful to the left side.
She was experiencing acute sciatic nerve pain, and it was very debilitating for her. Normally quite active, Leila was unable to walk to participate in any of her hobbies, such as table tennis.
