Q: I am a 59-year-old male with occasional but daily pain in my lower right back that seems to radiate into my lower right leg. I have an appointment with a doctor who specializes in “sports medicine.” Is that the appropriate specialist to see for this?
A: Yes, sports medicine is the appropriate specialist for your problem. You likely have sciatica nerve pain.
A pinched nerve at the right lower lumbar spine can cause these symptoms, and physical therapy is the mainstay of the treatment after clinical evaluation.
An MRI scan of the spine can be ordered by your specialist if you do not improve with physical therapy. This is to consider any surgical procedure or pain management by steroid injections. But in most cases you will recover with physical therapy.
— Answer from Dr. Joe F., a physician on JustAnswer.
Daily Answer is excerpted from the JustAnswer archives and features information provided by a Expert on JustAnswer.
