It may seem a little crazy that that dull, nagging leg and foot numbness is coming from your lower back. But if you have had pain in your leg or numbness in your foot or even a pinched nerve in your lower back this may be the true cause of your issue. By definition, pain or numbness that travels along a spinal nerve is called radicular pain, it's one of the most common types of pain that it occurs as a result of a spinal nerve compression, misaligned vertebrae or inflammation. 

While it's important to know where your pain is exactly coming from, it's even more important to know the true cause which will give you a better chance of recovery without having the need of expensive surgery, lost time from work or medication. Common leg pain triggers include bone spurs or arthritis which are associated with degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis where bone Spurs grow larger and pinch or poke into the canal. Disc herniation or protrusion is when the disc material can invade the space or hole where the nerves are coming out called the foramen. Lastly, ligament hypertrophy where the soft tissue becomes overgrown or thickened and this can happen with age and injuries in general which add pressure and invade the space for the nerves are deep in the spinal region. 

So what is the difference in sciatica? Sciatica refers to pain not numbness, altered or loss of sensation. Different nerves in your lower back map out different areas on the leg, shin and foot and therefore pain/ numbness is felt in these specific areas if these nerves are irritated, this is called radicular leg pain. Bottom line this pain is your body telling you something is wrong and you need a proper spinal exam. And to answer your question your foot/leg pain is connected to your back. Everyday chiropractors treat compressed nerves and misaligned vertebrae not only reducing your pain but getting your quality of life back. Thanks for reading, Dr. Joe