Radiculopathy: What Is It and Why Does It Cause Pain Away from Your Spine?
Radiculopathy is irritation or compression of a nerve root where it leaves the spine. It causes pain, tingling or weakness that travels along that nerve into an arm or leg. The symptoms often appear far from the actual problem in the spine. This is why whole-body standing imaging can be valuable in tracing the true source.
Key points
- Radiculopathy is a pinched nerve root in the spine, not a disease in the arm or leg where you feel the symptoms.
- It can occur in the neck (cervical), mid-back (thoracic) or lower back (lumbar).
- Lying-down scans can miss alignment problems that only appear when you stand under your own body weight.
- EOS standing imaging shows the full spine and pelvis in one low-radiation image, helping to identify the structural cause.
- If you have sudden loss of bladder or bowel control, or weakness that is getting worse quickly, get urgent medical help from your doctor or the nearest emergency department.
You may have been told you have radiculopathy. Or you may have shooting pain, pins and needles, or weakness down an arm or leg. If so, you are not alone. It is one of the most common reasons people look for specialist spine imaging.
The difficulty is that the pain in your hand, foot or calf is usually caused by a problem higher up in the spine. Standard imaging of only the painful area can come back looking normal, and leave you without answers.
What are the different types of radiculopathy?
Radiculopathy is grouped by which part of the spine is affected. Each type causes symptoms in a different area of the body.
Affects the neck. Symptoms travel into the shoulder, arm, hand or fingers. It is often caused by a disc bulge or a bony spur narrowing the nerve exit.
Affects the mid-back. It is less common, but causes a band of pain or numbness around the chest or abdomen. It is sometimes mistaken for heart or abdominal problems.
Affects the lower back. Symptoms travel into the buttock, thigh, calf or foot. This includes what many people call sciatica.
What does radiculopathy feel like?
Radiculopathy usually causes a pattern of symptoms that follows the path of the affected nerve. You might have some or all of the following.
Pain that travels from the spine into an arm or leg, sometimes described as electric or sharp.
Tingling, prickling or loss of feeling in a specific patch of skin supplied by that nerve.
Difficulty gripping, lifting or walking normally, because the nerve is not sending full signals to the muscle.
Turning the head, coughing or sitting for long periods can increase the pain, because these movements change the pressure on the nerve root.
Important: If you have sudden loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness around your groin, or rapid weakness in both legs, this could be a serious condition called cauda equina syndrome. Get urgent medical attention immediately by calling your local emergency number or going to the nearest emergency department.
What causes radiculopathy?
Radiculopathy happens when something presses on or irritates a nerve root as it leaves the spinal canal. Several structural problems can be responsible.
The soft centre of a spinal disc pushes outward and presses against a nearby nerve root.
Extra bone growth from wear and tear narrows the space where the nerve leaves the spine.
The spinal canal slowly narrows with age, squeezing the nerve roots inside it.
Poor alignment or curvature of the spine shifts weight unevenly, increasing pressure on specific nerve roots.
Your body is a connected chain from your feet to your head. A tilt in the pelvis, a curve in the spine or an imbalance in the legs can all shift the mechanical load onto areas that were not designed to carry it. Over time, this uneven pressure can narrow nerve exits and contribute to radiculopathy. The pain you feel in your leg may start with an alignment problem much higher up.
How does a standing scan help find the cause of radiculopathy?
A standing, weight-bearing image captures your spine under the same gravity and muscle forces it faces every day. This shows alignment problems that lying-down scans can miss.
When you lie down for a standard X-ray, CT or MRI, your muscles relax. Your spine settles into a different position. A disc that bulges under load may look normal. A curve that gets worse when you stand may flatten out. The nerve compression you feel all day can effectively disappear from the image.
EOS whole-body imaging takes a single standing picture from your head to your feet using about 90% less radiation than a standard X-ray, around ten times less. Because the whole skeleton is captured in one image, your treating specialist can measure how your spine, pelvis, hips and legs line up as a connected system. They can then trace the mechanical chain that leads to nerve compression.
Want to understand how your alignment relates to your symptoms? A free video consultation, which you can join from home, can help you decide whether standing imaging in London is the right next step.
Book a free video consultationWhen MRI is the better tool: EOS is excellent for seeing bones, joints and alignment. For soft tissue detail such as discs, nerves or the spinal cord itself, MRI is usually the better choice. Many people benefit from both types of imaging for a complete picture.
What helps with radiculopathy?
Most radiculopathy improves with time and the right support. The key is understanding exactly where the nerve is being compressed and why, so that any treatment can be properly directed.
Common approaches include physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles around the spine, changes to your activities, and pain management guided by your doctor or specialist. In persistent cases, injections or surgery may be considered. All of these depend on accurate imaging that shows the true structural picture.
ScanAlign is a diagnostic imaging clinic. We do not provide treatment. What we do is give you and your treating specialist the detailed standing alignment data needed to make informed decisions about your care. You can learn more about spinal imaging and how alignment is assessed.
Before you start treatment, or change the one you are on, it is worth getting a detailed diagnosis. Knowing whether the cause sits in the pelvis, the legs or the spine changes what will actually help.
Frequently asked questions about radiculopathy
Radiculopathy refers specifically to a problem at the nerve root where it leaves the spine. Neuropathy is a broader term for any nerve damage. It can occur anywhere in the body and has many causes, including diabetes. The symptoms can overlap, so accurate imaging and clinical assessment are important to tell them apart.
Sciatica is a type of lumbar radiculopathy. It describes the pain that travels along the sciatic nerve from the lower back into the buttock and leg. Not all radiculopathy is sciatica, because radiculopathy can also affect the neck or mid-back.
Many cases improve within weeks to months, especially with suitable physiotherapy and changes to your activities. However, persistent or worsening symptoms should be investigated with imaging, to understand the underlying cause and guide treatment.
A standard X-ray usually covers one area and is often taken lying down. A standing EOS scan captures your whole skeleton under natural weight-bearing forces. This shows alignment problems that disappear when you lie flat. It is particularly useful when earlier imaging has not explained your symptoms.
Yes. EOS uses about 90% less radiation than a standard X-ray, around ten times less. You can find more detail about safety and what to expect on our FAQs page.
No. ScanAlign accepts self-referrals. You can book a free video consultation directly to discuss whether standing imaging is suitable for your situation.
The price for patients travelling from abroad is confirmed during the free video consultation. You can also visit our FAQs page for more information.
EOS is designed to show bones, joints and overall alignment. It does not show soft tissue structures like discs in detail. For disc problems, MRI is usually the better tool. However, EOS can show the spinal alignment problems that may be contributing to stress on the discs.
Cervical radiculopathy affects nerves in the neck, sending symptoms into the shoulders, arms and hands. Lumbar radiculopathy affects nerves in the lower back, sending symptoms into the buttocks, legs and feet. The underlying mechanism is the same: a compressed nerve root.
Get urgent medical attention from your doctor or the nearest emergency department if you have sudden loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness around your groin or inner thighs, or weakness in one or both legs that is getting worse quickly. These can be signs of a condition that needs immediate treatment.
Understand what is behind your symptoms
A free video consultation lets you discuss your symptoms with a specialist radiographer from home, and decide whether travelling to London for standing whole-body imaging is the right step for you.
Book a free video consultationSources
- NHS. "Sciatica." nhs.uk, 2023. Overview of lumbar radiculopathy causes, symptoms and management.
- Iyer S, Kim HJ. "Cervical Radiculopathy." Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 2016;9(3):272-280.
- Illés T, Somoskeöy S. "The EOS imaging system and its uses in daily orthopaedic practice." International Orthopaedics, 2012;36(7):1375-1386.
Written by Abbas Dhami (Specialist Diagnostic Radiographer)
This page is general information and not a diagnosis.
ScanAlign is the trading name of CoreMed Solutions Ltd and operates under The Harley Street Hospital's CQC licence.