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clymer's avatar

Upper front thigh leg pain?

Asked by clymer (6points) August 1st, 2010

I’m 59 male, I have been having sharp stinging burning pain, itching and sometimes numbness in my upper front left thigh on the outside part of the leg. My doctor thought it was due to a compressed nerve in the stomach area near the waistline. He described it as lateral femoral cutaneous nerve syndrome, but I don’t think that is the problem. I get it a lot when I am standing mostly or just plain walking.

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16 Answers

JilltheTooth's avatar

I don’t want to be scary, but that sounds like a symptom I had 11 yrs ago. Turned out to be a large malignant tumor on my cervix well, that’s probably not your issue ;-) that was pressing on nerves causing the pain. Obviously I’m OK now, but not without some grief.

JilltheTooth's avatar

Oh, and welcome aboard! Good luck with that.

JLeslie's avatar

Make sure it is not some sort of blood clot known as a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) which is very dangerous. It could also be some minor blockage, not a clot that is likely to move like the DVT, but some simple occlusions that reduce blood flow, and when you put deman on the muscle, the blood supply is not sufficient and causes pain. Those are my possible guesses :). How long has this been going on? I think DVT can be detected by ultrasound and arterial occlussion you might nees some sort of dye injected thing and a scan to see it not sure. I am not a medical professional.

JLeslie's avatar

Do you feel it is nerve related and not the muscle?

cazzie's avatar

I immediately thought of a blood clot, but I’m sure the doctor ran tests to rule that out? The other thing can be some odd pressure in the lower/mid back. I’d ask for a scan to see what the disks are doing in your back.

clymer's avatar

Thanks to all that responded. Never thought I’d get response so quickly. As my doctor indicated he thinks it that lateral femoral cutaneous nerve syndrome. He ruled out clot,but thinks it’s nerve pressure coming from the waistline due to constraint in the waist area(possible tight pants, belt to tight, I’m a little overweight, but not that bad). To answer Jillthe tooth, it’s been off and on now for about a month, but more on now than off.

JilltheTooth's avatar

@clymer : Hope it’s just the tight pants!

JLeslie's avatar

Did you recently become overweight? Maybe the weight itself is pressing on something? You say your belt has been off, but are you trousers still tight on you?

I see you are new, welcome. Responses are generally very quick here.

clymer's avatar

Jleslie.. Yes I did become overweight recently since I was out of work for 5 months as a computer engineer. Now that I am back working again, I plan to shed the 10–15 lbs I gained, but my weight isn’t that bad @ 215 now and 5’10”. Now that you know some of my personal information :), I’m still suspicious of the diagnosis. Yes, I did have to go from a 38 to a 40, but pants don’t seem to be a problem. Sent another e-mail to my doctor and we’ll see what he says again. Thanks!

JLeslie's avatar

@clymer Well, I fully support that you have a gut feeling it is something else. You are the one inside of your body, and you know how it feels, and you know how it began. The doctor is relying on your explanation and how he interprets, and it is not a perfect system, communication with a doctor, believe me I know, and have empathy for your frustration in not knowing for sure what the hell is going on.

I will offer you this, your weight should probably be more around 180, depending on how muscular you are. I think it is possible carrying around an extra 20 pounds was not a big deal, but maybe now carrying around an extra 35–40 is tipping the scale, no pun intended. Also, I am not judging how much you weigh, my father probably weighs the same as you and he is around 5’8”. 38 is a larger waist size, if you are wearing your trousers/belt below your belly, then your waist is actually larger. 38 is a statistically average waist size in the US, but still considered overweight by most barometers. When I worked in retail we sold 36 the most and 34 and 38 were tied for second. If the trouble started when you gained weight, I hope losing the weight might cure it.

Lastly, I would say get your vitamin B12 and D checked next time at the doctor (do you go in the sun?) people are reporting improvement in muscle and nerve type of problems when these vitamins are in normal ranges; many people are dificient.

Did you see a neurologist for this, or just your GP? If you have not seen a specialist maybe that is the next thing to consider if it does not improve or gets worse. Maybe rule out MS (although very hard to diagnose in beginning stages from what I understand) or other nerve disorders.

GH4233's avatar

I started with the same “pain” about three weeks. Strange stuff. I thought it was because of the way I got into bed – I thought that I had pulled something but I don’t think that anymore. It has happened probably a half dozen times since and the area has progressed to a “numbness” feeling – anyway, it is a different feeling than the other leg in the same area.

Mine started out what seemed to be about a 1 inch long segment with a burning, stinging feeling. I have had disc problems in the lower and upper back – one was replaced (C7) in the upper back; I am just wondering if it is not associated with that condition. But I cannot logically figure out why the back-disc situation would only affect just one short distance of a nerve in the upper right leg; of course I know by now that “nerves” are difficult to figure out sometimes.

Regards,
George

asmonet's avatar

http://www.innerbody.com/image/nervov.html

^^^THAT^^^ is how a nerve in your spine can affect your thigh. All nerves in the body run around where they need to go and then end up connected to the spine. It makes sense once you understand how those connect. Click the Femoral Nerve listing and read it. :)

Even ten pounds of fat can put stress on your body, particularly if there is a preexisting injury or a chronic condition.

JLeslie's avatar

You know, I wonder if it is pain from using a laptop computer? Now that I read this again it sounds like the pain associated with laptops.

dabbler's avatar

Too much stuff in your pockets? I’m not being sarcastic, I usually carry too much stuff in my pockets and get something like that when driving a lot (e.g. on a vacation road trip).

gigigoo's avatar

I am also suffering from intense itching and now alot of pain in my thigh. Feels like I am getting bit by a spider. (but i’m not)..I do have nerve damage in my feet and I am on alot of meds. But the pain is so bad that I cry. Any direction??? Im new to all of this..

JLeslie's avatar

For those of you with front thigh pain, also consider if you sit your laptop or ipad on your lap for a long time. Stop doing it and see if the pain goes away after a few weeks.

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