When a patient experiences pain in a specific area of the body, it makes sense that something is wrong. While this is often the case, the root cause of your pain could be far from where it presents. At Macomb Pain Management, our team of board-certified pain management doctors has decades of experience treating challenging cases of pain, including pain that travels from its root cause to other parts of the body. We’ll take a closer look at radiating pain and explore why symptoms sometimes appear far from the root cause of your problem.
Understanding Referred Pain
When pain travels from its root cause and presents in a different area of the body, we call it referred pain. Referred pain happens when sensory signals from different areas of the body converge and travel along the same nerves to the brain. Sometimes these signals mix, leading to pain symptoms in other areas of the body when the pain is actually caused elsewhere. If pain care providers are unable to pick up on warning signs of referred pain, it can sometimes lead to less effective or unnecessary pain management treatments in areas of the body not responsible for your pain. Understanding how referred pain works is crucial to building the most effective pain management treatment plan possible. Next, we’ll take a closer look at some of the more common examples of referred pain that our patients present with.
Referred Shoulder Pain Caused by an Issue in the Neck
One of the more common types of referred pain our team sees is shoulder pain that is caused by an underlying issue with the neck. This is particularly common with patients who are dealing with a herniated disc in the spine or spinal stenosis. Both conditions can put pressure on nerves that travel to the shoulders, causing shoulder pain even when nothing is physically wrong with the shoulders. In some cases, patients may not even feel pain in the neck at all, leading them to believe that they are dealing entirely with a shoulder-related issue. Next, we’ll take a closer look at another type of referred pain: leg and hip pain caused by the lower back.
Leg and Hip Pain Caused by Referred Pain from the Lower Back
Similar to shoulder pain caused by an underlying issue in the neck, the lower lumbar spine often causes referred pain. Typically, this referred pain presents in the hips or legs, or in both. Several nerves run through the lower lumbar area of the back, and when they are irritated, they can branch out, sending pain signals to the hips and the legs. Treating leg or hip pain without evaluating a patient’s lower back can easily miss the root cause of your pain, leading you to continue to struggle with pain when less effective treatment options are recommended. Referred pain is one of the main reasons our pain management center stresses an accurate diagnosis before beginning a pain treatment plan, so we can ensure you receive the most effective pain care possible.
Fight Pain at Its Source With Help From Macomb Pain Management
If you’ve been struggling with a complex case of pain that isn’t being fully addressed at other pain management centers, referred pain may be playing a role. Macomb Pain Management’s referred pain specialists can evaluate your pain care needs and help determine if referred pain is playing a role and if other treatments will provide you with a higher level of pain relief. To get started, give our team a call at (248) 844-8281 to schedule your first appointment.
