Leg Pain Case Studies

HISOTRY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: This 40-year-old Latin female presents with complaints of low back and right leg pain she said that she hurt her back in a motor vehicle accident three years ago and she has had a history of intermittent low back pain since that time. Last December she started a job where she had to lift boxes that weighed approximately 40 pounds. Around the first of January this year she began to complain of back pain that

He underwent an interlaminar injection in May 2015 which improved his lower extremity pain by 99%. This has lasted him up until 1 month when he has had recrudescences of pain emanating from the low back radiating intermittently into the left lower extremity in a sharp shooting fashion, average pain 5/10, and worse pain 81/0. The pain is frequent and is associated with numbness and tingling. There is some difficulty with walking. Over the past 1 month, the pain has been severe. Home exercises and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS) have not been effective in reducing his pain and the pain is severe at times and limiting his ability to lift and sit. Walking, exercise and standing increased the pain. Lying down reduce the

Per AME report dated 05/11/15 by Dr. Pang, it was opined that the IW has reached MMI. Whole person impairment is 12 % for the thoracic spine and 17% to the lumbar spine. MD recommends provisions for the IW to seek medical attention for flare-ups or exacerbations with the possibility of undergoing PT, medications, further diagnostic imaging and

MRI of the cervical spine obtained on 06/26/13 showed mild degenerative spondylitic changes and status post posterior fusion.

Based on the latest medical report dated 04/08/16, the patient presents for follow-up of his lower back pain. He is status post radiofrequency facet on the left that initially helped with left sided lower back to 60%. He stated that PT was stopped by insurance for the past 2 weeks. Since he started PT, he has been having increased spasm across his lower back with pain into the left lower extremity. IW feels that PT

There is pain with lumbar flexion and extension. There is no aberrant behavior. The patient feels that he can perform increased activities of daily living with his current medications.

Per the medical report dated 03/29/2016 by Dr. Waghmarae, the patient believes that her left buttock pain has increased over the last month. She describes her pain as aching, throbbing and stabbing. She rates her pain symptoms as 8/10. Pain is relieved by medication, heat, ice and use of a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS) unit, and is increased by movement and standing for long periods of time. She states that her bilateral legs have also increased in pain severity over the last month. She believes because she is doing a lot of standing and trying to clean up her house. She states that pain is increasing in her left buttock. She is not involved in physical therapy, chiropractic, massage therapy or acupuncture. Palpation of the lumbosacral spine reveals abnormalities along the bilateral facet joints. There is pain in her axial lower back in all planes of lumbar motion that is

MRI of the lumbar spine obtained on 12/21/11 showed at L4-5 level, there is some mild loss of normal hydration of this nucleus pulposus representing early dessication changes, with a minor 2-3 mm subligamentous posterior disk bulge/protrusion slightly elevating the posterior longitudinal ligament indenting the thecal sac without spinal stenosis and neuroforaminal narrowing.

DOI: 8/6/2014. Patient is a 58-year-old male building service worker who sustained injury to his head while he was working below, a co-worker installing a riser lost his balance and the riser weighing 150-200 pounds fell on his head. Per OMNI entry, he was initially diagnosed with closed head injury and possible concussion.

He still does have significant amount of residual back pain. Also, he does get still intermittent pain and numbness in the legs, left side worse than the right side. He also gets bilateral knee pain. He continues to have some bladder incontinence episode urgency. He does feel depressed as well. Treatments to date include anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, epidural injection performed in May 2015, spinal surgery in 2011, L4-L5 laminotomy with good improvement, and left L5-S1 laminotomy on 4/20/16 with improvement postoperative. Physical examination revealed that the patient has been able to discontinue the use of cane. There is pain to palpation over the L5-S1 area. Range of motion is limited. The patient has flexion of 60% of normal and extension of 40% of normal. Motor strength is 5-/5 in the left lower extremity, especially in the gastrocsoleus and extensor hallucis longus. Sensation is slightly diminished in the L5 distribution bilaterally, left worse than the right. Deep tendon reflexes is 2+ at the bilateral knee and 1 + at the bilateral ankle. Plan notes physical therapy of 2 x/ week to strengthen muscles, stabilize the spine and reduce pain; Flector patch 1.3% to be applied one patch to the back every 12 hours as necessary for

MRI of the cervical spine dated 08/17/16 showed at C3-4 and C4-5, there is mild posterior disc bulging.

The patient has a history of discectomy to the left with temporary improvement of his lumbar pain and lower extremity symptoms. He has reherniation to the left correlating to the L4-L5. He has had transforaminal epidural steroid injections and facet injections with relief of his lumbar pain.

Of note, previous x-rays of the lumbar spine dated 01/14/16 showed a solid fusion at L4-5 with interbody graft at L4-5 as well as pedicle screw fixation in satisfactory alignment.

Per the medical report dated 08/12/16 by Dr. Gunderson, the patient had neck pain, as well as headaches, dizziness and blurred vision. The neck pain radiated into both shoulders, but more so on the right, and occasionally she had tingling in her upper extremities. She described the neck pain as severe and intermittent, and not related to any specific activity, and relieved with massage. The pain in her lower back was in the beltline and radiated into both lower extremities, more so on the left. She described the pain as moderately severe and constant, and not related to any activity, and only relieved with nerve medicines. On examination, the patient had tenderness in the lower cervical region about C5 to C7. Range of motion of her neck was 75% of normal. Motor, sensory, and reflex examinations in the upper extremities were normal. On examination of the lumbar spine, the patient could dress and undress without difficulty. She had a bent forward posture and gait. She had reduced lumbar motion and with maximum forward flexion, her fingertips were 12 inches from the floor. Lateral flexion was 50% of normal, and she had no active extension in the lumbar spine. Motor, sensory, and reflex examinations in the lower extremities were normal. There was paravertebral tenderness about L4-5 bilaterally, as well as in both sacroiliac and sciatic notch regions. Straight leg caused hip and thigh pain at 50 degrees bilaterally. Of note, X-rays of the cervical spine demonstrated disc degeneration at C5-6. X-rays of the lumbar spine were normal. Patient sustained

On the statement of medical necessity per MG-2 form dated 07/13/16, patient has been experiencing severe lumbar spine pain/spasms since the injury. She complains of lumbar spine pain with cramps in the lower extremity going down to the feet, associated with tingling sensation. There is left greater than right L3-S1 pain and spasms, left greater than the right L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1 facet joint pain, upon posterolateral extension at 45 degrees. There is bilateral sacroiliac joint tenderness. There is tenderness over the right lateral quadriceps muscle. Range of motion (ROM) is limited secondary to