Referred pain
Credit:
Getty Images under licence to PhysioQinetics Ltd.
What is referred pain?
This kind of pain has its source elsewhere other than where the pain is or radiates out from this source. Structures like joints, muscles and nerves can all refer pain to locations away from their surrounding site.
Referred symptoms generally arise from overuse, stiffness or tight/sensitive nerves. A common example is sciatica. This can arise from any three of the structures mentioned, a stiff facet joint, a tight muscle (piriformis) or an irritated nerve root and there can be several reasons why each of these may have happened.
This is the reason why it is important to have a thorough assessment to establish the true nature of the pain as these conditions can easily be overlooked causing these symptoms to persist. Due to the thorough assessment we will give you, we will find out where the problem is coming from. This enables us to treat the underlying cause and therefore help prevent the problem recurring.