What is meralgia paresthetica?

Have you ever experienced pain or numbness in your legs that made you question if aliens had replaced them overnight? Chances are, you might be suffering from a condition called meralgia paresthetica. It is quite common and affects almost 1 in 10 people!

In simpler terms, meralgia paresthetica (MP) happens when the nerve responsible for sensations in the outer thigh gets compressed or pinched. Such an occurrence often triggers discomfort, weakness, tingling sensations, and even shooting pains.

If all these sound like words out of an alien dictionary to you, don’t fret! In this article, we will arm you with enough information about MP to make Donald Trump jealous! Let’s dive right into it.

What causes Meralgia Paresthetica?

As earlier mentioned, compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) results in MP. But what exactly causes LFCN compression? Here are some possible culprits:

Tight Clothes

Look at yourself very closely—do your hips look amazing lately? Well then there’s a chance that tight clothing could be squeezing your nerves too hard which leads to MP- technically speaking. So those figure-hugging pants could not only turn heads but also leave us whimpering on our way home!

Weight Gain

Carrying around extra pounds can cause pressure on the nerves through various avenues eg by increasing intra-abdominal pressure through deposition of fat within or between abdominal organs OR it can simply make area involved sensitive under subtle pressure where previously there was space.

Pregnancy

Relishing every moment of being pregnant except this one minor detail: one may experience some pronounced changes to their body including bouts with pregnancy-related__ pelvic girdle pain as well as other painful symptoms such as having loss sensation along certain areas surrounding hips that could point to MP.

Standing or Walking for an Extended Period

Oh, our precious little human legs are not used to standing or walking for extended periods of time. As a result, these long walks often cause nerve compression around the hip area triggering MP symptoms earlier than one might think!

Signs and Symptoms

So, how do you know if it’s just another minor pain in your leg gifting us with more VIP seatings at the doctor’s office? You’ll want to keep an eye out for these signs and symptoms:

  • Tingling sensations on the outer surface of the lowe region on the thigh
  • Numbness on this same patch too!
  • A burning sensation in that particular part of your body(the outer side)
  • Pain along said region.

Symptoms such as weakness while doing everyday activities can be rare but depending on severity is something one should not ignore alongside any loss of muscle tone. Such huge pains thus come from treating every symptom seriously especially ones related to severe cases – whether caused by sitting cross-legged wrongfully since their tendons overstretch & lockup after hours without breaks even when seated correctly like swayed crossing; tight clothing(inappropriate compression); obesity|weight gain |Bariatric surgery(whereby weight is lost fast by these surgical options) all can lead towards Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Neuropathy.

Finally seeing a physician will save both feet plenty fashion accessories during dreadful rest times which we’re afraid may only compound stress levels unless warned otherwise through medical support sooner rather than later!

Diagnosis Of MP

Every mystery deserves great detectives with equally amazing skills because what good comes off clueless actions anyway?! Detection depends mainly upon diagnosis l employed clinically apart from other disorders similar with limited info about some amongst them.

The following evaluations are conducted foremost regarding diagnosis:

  1. Medical history review:- Over short sessions where recording small stuff one does each session is checked for minor details from each session with healthcare professional.
  2. Physical examination:- Assess if abnormalities of nerve are causing nerve compressions , senses within the region being checked for sensitivity or loss thereof.
  3. Electromyogram(EMG) exam:- They use Electrical impulses to examine muscles and play around with nerves before going back into muscle tone evaluations; called an electrodiagnostic testing too(electrode input wiring)
  4. Imaging studies: Often times ultrasonography can be useful in ruling out other conditions like DVT, inguinal hernias etc0.

When should you see a doctor?

If you experience any of these symptoms often (more than once a day), especially when it interferes with your quality of life (such as sleeplessness, inability to undertake day-to-day activities), then definitely book that appointment ASAP!

Treatments

You’ve been diagnosed! What’s next? Do we go through 6 weeks worth treatments such no one has heard about or perform voodoo on our legs at night? Neither! We have conventional treatment methods available:

Medications

Sometimes, doctors prescribe medications that help reduce inflammation and pain symptomatically effectively quickening ail recovery time – sometimes successful over-the-counter prescription meds maybe prescribed by Pharm/DO/BP clinics wherever they work/have their services availed eg lidocaine patches gel/massage creams may come handy fast reducing effects- while steroids may be what works efficiently towards chronic MP cases.

Nerve Blocks

As the name suggests- blocks are inserted right to prevent occurrence altogether(such as numbness deficit types after injury). Usually performed in clinic settings under local anaesthesia where medication is injected into area treated relieving those discomforts gradually increasing comfort levels until full therapeutic effect takes Hold!(Otherwise lasts few hrs-different from alternate method ‘Steroid Injections’ treating slower though still effective)

Therefore, anyone going through body changes such as pregnancy, weight loss or gain should be careful of any symptoms experienced in the outer part of their thighs, taking necessary steps to prevent it from occurring whenever possible. With our vast shared knowledge about merlagia paresthetica amidst laughter we are sure owners can take good care!

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