Unfortunately, most people reading this may experience poor sleep due to nerve pain. Difficulty falling asleep, poor sleep quality, exhaustion; these can all be factors of nerve pain at night. Not to mention the anxiousness of thinking what you’ll do the next night. Many individuals experience the pain all the way from their hips, to their feet. For some, it is an isolated feeling solely in the upper legs, ankles, or feet. But the real question is: why does this happen and what can you do about it to get a more restful night?
Why Is The Nerve Pain In My Legs Worse At Night?
- Distractions
It is thought that for some, the reason could be that during your waking hours, your mind is distracted by all the things you’re doing during the day. At night these distractions go away, so now your attention is focused on the nerve pain in your legs. - Sleep Position
You may have noticed that certain sleep positions will aggravate your pain. Certain positions may aggravate pain if it is coming from your back. Certain positions may also put more pressure on locations where the nerves are damaged in the legs. - Sheets and Blankets
The pressure of sheets or blankets on the skin may also cause discomfort so reducing this pressure on the legs may help. - Temperature
Most people prefer a cool room to sleep in, but it is thought that this may contribute to nerve pain. There may be less blood flow to the nerves in the legs because of the decreased body temperature, and the coolness may make the nerves more excitable.*What Conventional Medicine Will Tell You
What Conventional Medicine Is Telling You
- Sciatica
This is pain that originates from the spinal cord where the nerves that go to your legs originate. Symptoms tend to be more above the knee then below. - Nerve pain from peripheral Neuropathy
It may be burning, tingling, numbness, or pins and needles sensations that you’ll experience. Neuropathy can be associated with medical conditions such as diabetes.
Here is what 95% of you are not being told! Read further
As a peripheral nerve surgeon, I will often mention to my patients that conventional medicine is 30 years behind regarding the evaluation and treatment of the peripheral nervous system in the lower extremity. Few doctors have thorough training in this speciality, and many people are not properly diagnosed because of this. It is common to hear; “It’s irreversible, so take anti-inflammatory medications or prescription drugs.” Or, you’re told the problem comes from the back, and treatments are focused on the back only leading to physical therapy or chiropractor appointments. These often fail to address the source.
Three Nerve Tunnels In The Legs You Need To Become Familiar With To Understand The Source Of Your Leg Pain
Three Nerve Tunnels In The Legs You Need To Become Familiar With To Understand The Source Of Your Leg Pain- Common Peroneal Nerve Tunnel
This tunnel is just below the knee on the outside of the leg. This nerve supplies the muscles and provides sensation to the top of the foot. - Superficial Peroneal Nerve
This nerve is a branch of the common peroneal nerve and its tunnel is on the front of the leg in the lower one third. It also supplies nerves to the top of the foot. - Soleal Sling Tunnel
This nerve lies in the upper calf just below the knee. It supplies the skin and muscles on the bottom of the foot.
So Why Could The Pain Be From These Tunnels?
- Mechanical
It may be that you are born with tight nerve tunnels, just like some patients are more likely to have carpal tunnel. Patients suffering from Restless legs have a fifty percent chance of someone else in the family also having Restless legs. So tight nerve tunnels could be inherited. - Trauma
For others, something as simple as an ankle sprain could put traction on these nerves and cause chronic nerve pain. - Metabolic
If you’re diabetic because your sugars are higher, your nerves will swell causing more pressure on the nerves as they travel through nerve tunnels. So, the nerve damage is more from compression rather than the medical condition.
So, if you’re frustrated with nerve pain in your legs and you’re being told it’s your back, neuropathy, irreversible, or maybe medication is the only fix; now you know there is another solution. The source of the pain may be from one of the three nerve tunnels we have described. So if you want to improve the quality of your sleep, this blog may have opened the door to a new solution. We are here to help.
