In the late stages of lumbar osteochondrosis, back pain often radiates to different parts of the lower extremities: gluteal region, thigh, and shin. Sensations are of a different nature, often imitating other pathologies of the nervous and vascular systems of the legs.

Pain in the legs with late osteochondrosis
Because of severe pain, patients often stop – so-called intermittent claudication develops. The clinic of this condition resembles the endarteritis of the vessels of the lower extremities. Differential diagnostics using Doppler study of blood vessels allows to determine the true cause of the pathological condition.
With the formed intervertebral hernia in the lumbar region, the calf muscle syndrome manifests itself. It is characterized by the appearance of severe severe pain in calves, sometimes accompanied by tonic convulsions. Pain sensations can also be trailing, aching. In this case, there is a need for differentiation from chronic venous insufficiency. The difference is the absence of swelling of the legs and the severity of the veins in lumbar osteochondrosis.
When the spine L III is injured, patients can feel chill and cold in the area of ​​the foot, shin. When these symptoms appear, differential diagnosis is performed with a spasm of the arteries of the legs of different origin.
Often the pains associated with osteochondrosis extend to the foot, accompanied by paresthesia, weakening of reflexes, partial or total loss of sensitivity. A similar clinic arises with diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy. In the case of osteochondrosis, the infringement of the nerve root leads to paresthesias propagating in one leg innervated by this spine. With polyneuropathy both limbs are affected.