Muscle cramp: Just tight muscles, right?
It wouldn't be uncommon or unreasonable for people who feel muscle tightness, particularly at the back of the leg to perform stretches to relieve the feeling. But what if stretching seems ineffective?
The tightness or cramp in the back of the legs can often be what we as physiotherapists refer to as referred pain, particularly from the sciatic plexus (the correct term, plexus: bundle of nerves)
To give it it's correct name, the sciatic plexus stems from the spinal cord between L4 and S3* and innervates (powers) nothing!
Technically, the sciatic plexus does not innervate anything as it is a bundle of nerves, kind of like a bundle of wires behind the TV unit. They branch off and power the TV, blu ray player, the digital TV system and so on. It's the same for the sciatic plexus.
* Different sources may provide differing nerve root information
The sciatic plexus is made up of a group of nerves: Superior gluteal nerve
Inferior gluteal nerve
Popliteal nerve
Common peroneal nerve
Tibial nerve
And these nerves innervate their respective muscle groups. Pretty much all of the muscles at the back of the leg!
If we examine the image to the left, I have tried to highlight the pathway that the sciatic plexus takes. From the spinal cord, it runs through the centre of the gluteals, then down the centre of the hamstrings.
It then spits to form its peroneal and tibial branches. It simple terms it runs down the outside of your shin and the inside of your shin.
Therefore, if you are suffering pain in the gluteals, hamstrings, calves or peroneal muscles, then this could be nerve impingement!
Oh heck, I may have nerve impingement!
Nerve impingement drums up all kinds of catastrophic images! I think people confuse this with nerve damage! What I say to people is, this is not damage, the nerve is trapped. I then go on to demonstrate me grabbing my forearm with my other hand. I say, "My forearm is trapped, I am not damaging it" I then let go of my arm and say "We need to get whatever is trapping the nerve to let go". I find this tends to reassure people. It is always best to get checked out by a good physiotherapist before you assume what may be wrong with you and spend wasted hours and days performing ineffective exercises on you. A good physiotherapist will be able to identify the difference between muscle tightness and nerve impingement. But don't despair, neither is life threatening or causing you harm or damage.
