Thigh pain, why women

If we exercise suddenly, we will experience muscle soreness, which will be relieved as long as we rest properly. If a woman experiences thigh pain, she can first rule out the possibility of sudden a lot of exercise recently or a bump on the thigh. If neither is the case, then it may be neural traction pain, such as lumbar disc herniation.

Lumbar disc herniation is one of the more common diseases. It is mainly caused by different degrees of degenerative changes in the various parts of the lumbar disc (nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus and cartilage plate), especially the nucleus pulposus. Under the influence of external factors, the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc ruptures, and the nucleus pulposus tissue protrudes (or falls out) from the rupture to the back or inside the spinal canal, causing the adjacent spinal nerve roots to be stimulated or compressed, resulting in a series of clinical symptoms such as low back pain, numbness and pain in one or both lower limbs. The highest incidence of lumbar disc herniation is at L4-5 and L5-S1, accounting for about 95%.

1. Low back pain

It is the first symptom that occurs in most patients, with an incidence of about 91%. Because the outer layer of the annulus fibrosus and the posterior longitudinal ligament are stimulated by the nucleus pulposus, induced pain in the lower back is produced through the vertebral nerve, sometimes accompanied by buttocks pain.

2. Radiating pain in the lower limbs

Although high-level lumbar disc herniation (L2-3, L3-4) can cause femoral neuralgia, it is rare in clinical practice, accounting for less than 5%. The vast majority of patients have herniation between L4 and 5, or L5 and S1, and present with sciatica. Typical sciatica is pain that radiates from the lower back to the buttocks, back of the thigh, outer side of the calf to the foot. The pain is aggravated by increased abdominal pressure due to sneezing and coughing. The radiating pain is mostly on one side of the limbs, and only a very small number of patients with central or paracentral nucleus pulposus herniation show symptoms in both lower limbs. There are three causes of sciatica: ① The ruptured intervertebral disc produces chemical stimulation and autoimmune reactions, causing chemical inflammation of the nerve roots; ② The protruding nucleus pulposus compresses or stretches the inflamed nerve roots, blocking their venous return, further aggravating edema and increasing sensitivity to pain; ③ The compressed nerve roots are ischemic. The above three factors are interrelated and aggravate each other.

3. Cauda equina symptoms

The nucleus pulposus protruding to the rear or the prolapsed and free intervertebral disc tissue compresses the cauda equina, which mainly manifests as difficulty in defecation and urination, and abnormal sensation in the perineum and perianal area. In severe cases, symptoms such as incontinence and incomplete paralysis of both lower limbs may occur, which are rare in clinical practice.