Sudden leg weakness

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I've been dealing with upper back pain for a month, but suddenly about a week ago, my legs became so weak that I could barely walk without stumbling (they're usually the strongest part of my body).

This isn't a request for medical advice. I've seen a physician, who has confirmed that there's no apparent serious nerve damage, I'm working with a physio 1-2x/week, and I'm getting a back X-ray this afternoon just to be safe.

Has anyone else has experienced leg weakness after a back injury? What was the recovery was like?
 
My sister experienced sudden leg weakness. Turned out to be ALS, and it claimed her life two years later.
 
Anonymous Aviator said:
Has anyone else has experienced leg weakness after a back injury? What was the recovery was like?
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Surprised that doctor didn’t refer you to an MRI. You may have a herniated disc. I have zero professional healthcare experience, only as a patient, but that sounds like a classic symptom. Repairable for sure. Get second opinion somewhere.
 
Piperonca said:
Surprised that doctor didn’t refer you to an MRI. You may have a herniated disc. I have zero professional healthcare experience, only as a patient, but that sounds like a classic symptom. Repairable for sure. Get second opinion somewhere.
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This.
 
Piperonca said:
Surprised that doctor didn’t refer you to an MRI. You may have a herniated disc. I have zero professional healthcare experience, only as a patient, but that sounds like a classic symptom. Repairable for sure. Get second opinion somewhere.
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I agree with this. OP said he didn’t want medical advice so I wasn’t going to chime in but now that you guys have, I’ll pile on. In @steingar’s defense he’s right to be unsubtle. Sudden lower limb motor weakness demands the actual cause be found, not an assumption that back pain that’s been there weeks longer is the cause. They might be unrelated. The potential scenarios are so multiple and diverse, without knowing exactly what’s going on, even if someone here has had a similar experience it won’t be predictive of what OP is facing. It could be anything from a speedy recovery to death in 24 months, although statistically the latter is unlikely.

To the OP, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I hope the doctor you saw was a neurologist or you’re being referred to one pretty quickly. If the X-ray today doesn’t give you a clear answer I agree with piperonca about getting another opinion, particularly if the weakness isn’t showing any signs of reversing.
 
Another vote for herniated disc. Many friends have had that.
 
OP, you mentioned injury. If in fact that's causing your leg weakness, you don't want to delay diagnosis and treatment. Those nerves may not want to come back 100% after a few weeks. Every ortho and neuro doc I've seen say come in ASAP if I get leg weakness.
 
Rushie said:
I agree with this. OP said he didn’t want medical advice so I wasn’t going to chime in but now that you guys have, I’ll pile on. In @steingar’s defense he’s right to be unsubtle. Sudden lower limb motor weakness demands the actual cause be found, not an assumption that back pain that’s been there weeks longer is the cause. They might be unrelated. The potential scenarios are so multiple and diverse, without knowing exactly what’s going on, even if someone here has had a similar experience it won’t be predictive of what OP is facing. It could be anything from a speedy recovery to death in 24 months, although statistically the latter is unlikely.

To the OP, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I hope the doctor you saw was a neurologist or you’re being referred to one pretty quickly. If the X-ray today doesn’t give you a clear answer I agree with piperonca about getting another opinion, particularly if the weakness isn’t showing any signs of reversing.
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it’s not like early diagnosis is important in ALS, so I don’t agree with you regarding steingars approach.
 
I cleaned out a refrigerator once and as soon as that mystery gray fuzzy stuff hit the hot water in the sink, my legs gave out.

The list of non-serious causes is probably huge and should not be ignored when seeking medical advice.
 
Salty said:
it’s not like early diagnosis is important in ALS, so I don’t agree with you regarding steingars approach.
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That is true but early diagnosis is important in other causes so maybe the grenade approach has its place. I won’t argue that Steingar can be a doodyhead sometimes though.:)
 
Thank you for all the replies so far. It's OK to be blunt.

I'm making progress on the treadmill. I'm building up strength, and am learning not to let my left knee lock back when I'm walking, which has eliminated most of the staggering. My doctor was putting in a referral to nerve experts for due diligence, but I haven't heard yet.

I have suffered from herniated disks in my lower back since I was 15, so I know them well, but this is the first time I've had it one my upper back.

My balance is coming back bit by bit, with me progressing to walking like a vaudeville parody of an old man instead of a parody of a staggering drunk. I'm relearning how to walk, slowly (about 1½ or 2 mph) using the right form, engaging my glutes and core instead of my back.
 
Anonymous Aviator said:
Thank you for all the replies so far. It's OK to be blunt.

I'm making progress on the treadmill. I'm building up strength, and am learning not to let my left knee lock back when I'm walking, which has eliminated most of the staggering. My doctor was putting in a referral to nerve experts for due diligence, but I haven't heard yet.

I have suffered from herniated disks in my lower back since I was 15, so I know them well, but this is the first time I've had it one my upper back.

My balance is coming back bit by bit, with me progressing to walking like a vaudeville parody of an old man instead of a parody of a staggering drunk. I'm relearning how to walk, slowly (about 1½ or 2 mph) using the right form, engaging my glutes and core instead of my back.
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I’m glad you’re already doing better and I’m glad you’re being referred to a specialist. Here’s a case where upper back herniation caused gait disturbance. Not saying this is your diagnosis but it is interesting:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28297693/

In this case he ended up with surgery. Central disk protrusion is rare at that level according to this article but spinal cord compression is something you want to identify and fix fast, hence people here saying you need an MRI with some sense of urgency.

Because you are active and well motivated that is a positive sign for your prognosis.
 
Sorry guys, that post just gave me one hell of a flashback. Still, something like this should be dealt with immediately. In my sister's case there was nothing to be done. In the OP's case there likely is. Didn't mean to give an internet diagnosis.
 
steingar said:
My sister experienced sudden leg weakness. Turned out to be ALS, and it claimed her life two years later.
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I’m sorry about your sister. I lost a sister to cancer. Losing a sibling is under appreciated. Everybody comes out and supports you when you lose a spouse or a parent but somehow losing a sibling slips through the cracks, even though siblings are often our first and best friends in life.
 
steingar said:
Sorry guys, that post just gave me one hell of a flashback. Still, something like this should be dealt with immediately. In my sister's case there was nothing to be done. In the OP's case there likely is. Didn't mean to give an internet diagnosis.
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Cross posts! I suspected that was what was behind your post, not malice.
 
Rushie said:
I’m sorry about your sister. I lost a sister to cancer. Losing a sibling is under appreciated. Everybody comes out and supports you when you lose a spouse or a parent but somehow losing a sibling slips through the cracks, even though siblings are often our first and best friends in life.
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Sorry about your sib. Yeah, it really sucked. I finally ditched the part of my genetics class where I talked about ALS, a little too painful for me. Like I said, that was the first thing she saw. Thing is ALS is vanishingly rare (thankfully). Whatever the OP has, odds are the outcome will be better if its dealt with promptly. During college a friend has weakness in his legs. Ignored it. Turned out to be a full-blown case of Guillain-Barre autoimmune syndrome that took him out for the whole summer. Had my pal dealt with it straightway he'd have been out for a week.
 
steingar said:
Sorry about your sib. Yeah, it really sucked. I finally ditched the part of my genetics class where I talked about ALS, a little too painful for me. Like I said, that was the first thing she saw. Thing is ALS is vanishingly rare (thankfully). Whatever the OP has, odds are the outcome will be better if its dealt with promptly. During college a friend has weakness in his legs. Ignored it. Turned out to be a full-blown case of Guillain-Barre autoimmune syndrome that took him out for the whole summer. Had my pal dealt with it straightway he'd have been out for a week.
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Right. There are a lot of things that can present like that; transverse myelitis, multiple sclerosis, GB, motor neuron disease (ALS), traumatic injury. But I’m sure OP’s original doctor considered all that and probably is steering him right. If there is no bowel/bladder dysfunction for example that’s a good sign. The attitude of the neuro investigation just being “due diligence” and not emergency makes me think the doctor is probably correctly identifying this as temporary herniation that might resolve on its own. Nevertheless if it were me I’d want fast imaging evidence of what’s going on but I can be too PITA of a patient so there’s that.

My brother has permanent weakness in one leg from nerve damage from a disk herniation to a root, so these things need to be carefully evaluated. You don’t want to keep pressure on a nerve root much less the spinal cord for too long.
 
I’ve had upper back disc problems for 40 years after a work injury. Never has affected legs. The more likely area in your back to affect legs is the lumbar spine, and I have problems there, too. Could be as simple as getting a chiropractic adjustment and a therapeutic massage.

If you’re managing an upper back problem other parts of your back are doing the flexing and rotation to make up for it. Try icing your low back and see if it helps. Advil for a couple of days to relieve inflammation. Start simple. If nothing else it’ll give you something to tell the doctor.
 
Stewartb said:
I’ve had upper back disc problems for 40 years after a work injury. Never has affected legs. The more likely area in your back to affect legs is the lumbar spine, and I have problems there, too. Could be as simple as getting a chiropractic adjustment and a therapeutic massage.

If you’re managing an upper back problem other parts of your back are doing the flexing and rotation to make up for it. Try icing your low back and see if it helps. Advil for a couple of days to relieve inflammation. Start simple. If nothing else it’ll give you something to tell the doctor.
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I too have had disk problems in the cervical and lumbar areas but not as bad as my brother. Inflammation and swelling is involved and a course of prednisone often helps. Chiropractic adjustment with therapeutic massage has also helped me manage it.

My mom had upper back pain that we unfortunately thought was just muscle spasm. There was no weakness involved. After it didn’t get better for a while we took her in and it turned out to be a fractured vertebrae! But she is in her 90s with osteopenia.
 
Ok, so maybe subtle and encouraging is not enough. While I am not in the business of giving internet medical advice, I do have say something here.

OP:
If you experience the combination of upper back pain and lower extremity weakness that causes a gait abnormality, it could indicate serious disease. Some of these potential conditions represent medical or neurosurgical emergencies.

I would urge you to get a comprehensive evaluation of this problem in a expedited manner, ideally done by a neurologist. However, if you limp into the ER of your closest tertiary care center and tell the emergency medicine physician: 'I am experiencing upper back pain and lower extremity weakness', you will probably get the required workup in short order.
 
Can you stand on the balls of your feet with your heels elevated? And conversely can you stand on your heels with the balls of your feet held off the floor? And not suggesting balance issues but the strength in your feet/legs to do this. Try this one leg at a time with the other leg held off the floor. If you have trouble with either you probably have pressure on the nerve at the L3, L4 or L5 vertebrae. Rushie is correct you have days not weeks if it is bad or you could end up with permanent nerve damage, weakness and potential foot drop issues. Get the MRI as suggested above!
 
Piperonca said:
Surprised that doctor didn’t refer you to an MRI. You may have a herniated disc. I have zero professional healthcare experience, only as a patient, but that sounds like a classic symptom. Repairable for sure. Get second opinion somewhere.
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Most insurances will need an X-ray before getting an MRI. There is a lot of useful information that can be gleaned from good X-rays with flexion and extension views. Especially for this complaint.
 
steingar said:
My sister experienced sudden leg weakness. Turned out to be ALS, and it claimed her life two years later.
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Wow! I’ve heard it usually starts in the legs for most cases. My aunt had it and it started in her voice. She was a school teacher and started to have a hoarse voice near the end of the school year and thought it was just from over use and needed to rest. Ended up progressing everywhere else and took her life about 4 years later. Horrible disease!
 
RyanB said:
Wow! I’ve heard it usually starts in the legs for most cases. My aunt had it and it started in her voice. She was a school teacher and started to have a hoarse voice near the end of the school year and thought it was just from over use and needed to rest. Ended up progressing everywhere else and took her life about 4 years later. Horrible disease!
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Agreed. I am sorry about your aunt. We were puzzled by my Sibs symptoms until we heard the ALS. Then things snapped into place. Two years later she could only move two fingers, and then she passed away. The only good thing about ALS is its rarity.
 
steingar said:
Agreed. I am sorry about your aunt. We were puzzled by my Sibs symptoms until we heard the ALS. Then things snapped into place. Two years later she could only move two fingers, and then she passed away. The only good thing about ALS is its rarity.
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Likewise for your sister. :(

I would love more than anything to find a cure or even a solution to slow down the progression of the disease. Hopefully one day that will come to fruition.
 
It was an agressive tumour compressing my spine at T3 — I went from difficulty walking to paralyzed from the waist down in under 3 weeks.

I'm still bedridden in hospital, but the prognosis is good for walking again, and the root cancer (prostate) should be manageable for many good years ahead with the newest treatments. I've had the shop pickle my plane, and in the new year I'll talk to the doctors and see if getting some kind of a medical might still be in my future, or if it's time to sell.

Thanks, everyone, for urging me to take this seriously. I'm still digesting the sudden change in my life, but I'm mostly in a good, happy place, grateful for everything I've had in the past, and excited to live everything that is still in my future.

Happy skies.
 
Best wishes for a full recovery, and a return to flying.
 
PaulS said:
Actually that might have been the kindest comment in this thread, as shocking as it might have been. The message is clear, don't try to hide from symptoms like this, get it figured out.

OP, glad you are on the mend.
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No, it was not kind. The way you put it was kind. Steingar had no facts except leg weakness, and he tried to implant the idea that the OP was going to die. That is sick.
I went to the chiropractor today because I strained my back. I'm nearing 70 and occasionally when I get up, I feel some leg weakness, but my doctors say I am fine. Perhaps I should consult Steingar and line up a burial plot.
 
Anonymous Aviator said:
It was an agressive tumour compressing my spine at T3 — I went from difficulty walking to paralyzed from the waist down in under 3 weeks.
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Dang. I wish you all the best. I was wondering the other day what the outcome of this story was.
 
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