🚶 Leg Pain While Walking: Is it Spine Related? (Neurogenic Claudication)

🛑 Why Do My Legs Hurt When I Walk?

Many patients visit us believing they have a problem with their legs—muscle weakness, arthritis in the knees, or poor circulation. They report a specific pattern: they can walk for a few minutes, but then their legs feel heavy, painful, or numb, forcing them to stop and sit down.

If this sounds familiar, the problem might not be in your legs at all. It is often caused by a condition in your lower back called Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

🔍 The Culprit: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

As we age, the spinal canal can narrow due to thickened ligaments, bone spurs, or bulging discs. This narrowing chokes the nerves traveling down to the legs.

This condition leads to a symptom known as Neurogenic Claudication. Unlike a simple muscle cramp, this is nerve pain caused by congestion in the spinal canal when you stand upright or walk.

🛒 The "Shopping Cart" Sign

A classic sign of spine-related leg pain is that leaning forward provides relief.

Have you noticed that you can walk longer if you lean on a shopping cart at the supermarket? Or that you can ride a bicycle without pain but cannot walk? This is because leaning forward opens up the spinal canal slightly, relieving pressure on the nerves. Standing straight up closes it, bringing the pain back.

⚖️ Is it the Spine or Blood Circulation?

Leg pain can also be caused by poor blood flow (Vascular Claudication). Here is how Dr. Atul Sharma differentiates them:

• Spine Problem (Neurogenic): Pain is relieved by sitting or bending forward. Standing still often makes it worse. Walking downhill is harder than walking uphill.
• Circulation Problem (Vascular): Pain is relieved simply by stopping and standing still. You don't need to sit. The pain is usually a "cramping" sensation in the calves.

💊 How We Treat It

Diagnosis is confirmed with an MRI scan. Once confirmed, treatment focuses on improving your walking distance:

1. Medication: Nerve-calming drugs (like Gabapentin) to reduce the sensitivity of the nerves.
2. Physiotherapy: Exercises to tilt the pelvis and open the spinal canal.
3. Epidural Steroid Injections: To reduce swelling inside the tight spinal canal.
4. Decompression Surgery: If walking becomes nearly impossible, a minimally invasive procedure to "unclog" the canal can provide dramatic relief.

🧠 Final Thoughts

You do not have to accept limited mobility as a natural part of aging. If your world is shrinking because you can't walk more than a few hundred meters, the spine is likely the cause.

Dr. Atul Sharma specializes in diagnosing these complex overlapping symptoms. A simple consultation can determine if your leg pain originates in your back and how to fix it.