What is Femoral Neuropathy?

Femoral nerve dysfunction or Femoral neuropathy is a condition where you can't move or feel part of your leg due to damaged nerves, particularly the femoral nerve. An injury causes this, prolonged pressure on the nerve, or damage from disease. In most cases, this condition is expected to resolve by itself. However, if the symptoms do not improve, medications and physical therapy may be required.

What are the symptoms of femoral neuropathy?

This nerve disorder can cause a problem in mobility. Your knee or leg may feel weak, making it difficult to bear weight.

You may also experience unusual sensations in your legs. They include:

• Numbness in any part of the leg (usually the front and inside of the thigh, but potentially all the way down to the feet)
• Tingling in any portion of the leg
• Dull aching pain in the genital area
• Muscle weakness in the lower extremity
• Struggling to extend the knee, due to the weakness of the quadriceps
• Like your leg or knee is going to buckle under you

What causes femoral neuropathy?

The femoral nerve is one of the largest nerves in the leg. It is located near the groin. This nerve controls the muscles that help you straighten your leg and move your hips. It also supplies feeling in the lower part of your leg and the front of your thigh. As it is located centrally, nerve damage to this nerve is not very common as compared to the neuropathies caused by damage to other nerves. When damaged, the femoral nerve does affect your walking ability and even causes some problem with sensation in your leg and foot. Damage to the femoral nerve can happen in several ways, including:

• Direct injury
• Tumor or growth that presses on the nerve
• Prolonged pressure on the nerve from staying in one position for too long
• Pelvic fracture
• Radiation is given to the pelvis.
• There may be bleeding into the space behind the abdomen, known as the retroperitoneal space.
• A catheter may be inserted into the femoral artery for some surgical procedures.

Diabetic femoral neuropathy is diabetes. It leads to wide damage to the nerves in your body because of high or low blood sugar and pressure levels. When your legs, feet, toes, hands, and arms have nerve damage that involves the outer portion of the nerve, this condition is known as peripheral neuropathy. At this moment, some experts still disagree whether it's a real peripheral neuropathy or diabetic amyotrophy.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), diabetes is the main cause of peripheral neuropathy in people who have had diabetes for 25 years or more.

How severe is it?

Extended pressure on the femoral nerve may block blood flow in the affected area. This can cause tissue damage because of the low blood flow.

This is highly likely to damage your femoral vein or artery, which can be dangerous due to internal bleeding. The femoral artery is quite large and is placed close to the femoral nerve. Trauma usually affects bothsimultaneously. Bleeding in the artery or injury to the artery can cause pressure on the nerve.

The femoral nerve also provides sensation to the greatest area of the leg. The loss of sensation can cause various injuries. Weakened muscles in the legs contribute to more likelihood of falling. Falls are especially dangerous with the elderly because they can easily cause hip fractures, that are very severe injuries.

How is the diagnosis for femoral neuropathy done?

Early testing

The diagnosis of femoral neuropathy and its cause can be made with a complete physical examination by your doctor and by questioning recent injuries or surgeries and medical history.

To find weaknesses, your doctor will test specific muscles that the femoral nerve affects. They will likely check your knee reflexes and ask about any changes in feeling in the front of your thigh and the middle of your leg. The goal is to see if the weakness is only from the femoral nerve or if other nerves might also be involved.

Additional tests may include:

Nerve conduction

Nerve conduction tests measure how fast electrical signals travel in your nerves. If the signals take longer than normal to travel, it usually means there is damage to that nerve.

Electromyography (EMG)

Electromyography (EMG) should be done after a nerve conduction test to check how well your muscles and nerves are working. This test records the electrical activity in your muscles when the nerves that connect to them are active. The EMG will show if the muscle reacts correctly to stimulation. Some medical conditions cause muscles to contract on their own, which an EMG can identify as an abnormality. Because nerves control your muscles, this test can detect problems with both muscles and nerves.

MRI and CT scan

An MRI scan can help find tumors, growths, or other masses near the femoral nerve that might be pressing on it. MRI scans use radio waves and magnets to create detailed images of the area being examined.

A CT scan can also look for vascular or bone growths.

What are the Treatment options for femoral neuropathy?

The first treatment of femoral neuropathy is to address the underlying condition or cause.

If the cause is compression on the nerve, then the goal will be to relieve the compression. Sometimes mild injuries, like a small compression or stretch, may heal on their own. If you have diabetes, getting your blood sugar levels back to normal can help improve nerve problems. If your nerve doesn’t get better by itself, you will need treatment. This usually includes medication and physical therapy.

Medications

You may receive corticosteroid injections in your leg to reduce inflammation and swelling. Pain medications can help ease discomfort. If you have nerve pain, your doctor might prescribe gabapentin, pregabalin, or amitriptyline.

Therapy

The strength of your leg muscles can be regained with physical therapy. The exercises that a physical therapist would teach you help strengthen and stretch your muscles. Physical therapy would reduce pain and increase mobility.

You might have to use an orthopedic device, for example, a brace to support you when walking. Most commonly, a knee brace helps in the prevention of knee buckling.

Depending on how severe the damage to your nerves is, and how hard it is becoming to get around, you could also need occupational therapy. This sort of therapy assists you in performing everyday activities like bathing and others that contribute towards self-care. These are labeled as "activities of daily living." Your physician may also suggest some vocational counseling should your condition result in you needing another career.

Surgery

Your doctor may suggest surgery if you have a growth pressing against your femoral nerve. Removing the growth will help reduce pressure on the nerve.

How can nerve damage be prevented?

You can reduce your risk of femoral neuropathy from diabetes by controlling your blood sugar levels. This protects your nerves from damage. Preventive steps should target specific causes. Talk to your doctor about the best prevention strategies for you.

• Staying active helps keep your leg muscles strong and improves stability.
• Understanding these underlying conditions and getting the appropriate treatment may help minimize the risk.

What is the Long-term Outlook after Treatment?

You can get rid of the problem entirely after you treat the underlying condition. Otherwise, if the treatment fails or if the damage to the femoral nerve is extensive, you may lose all sensations in that portion of your leg or the ability to move it permanently.

Why choose Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital for Femoral Neuropathy Treatment in Lucknow, India?

Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital offers advanced Femoral Neuropathy treatment in Lucknow, India, at an affordable cost. We have a team of experienced neurologists and orthopedic specialists who provide accurate diagnosis and both non-surgical and surgical treatment options including nerve decompression, pain management, and physiotherapy-based rehabilitation procedures. Our Neurology and Orthopedics team has decades of experience in successfully treating Femoral Neuropathy in Lucknow, India.

To seek an Expert Consultation for Femoral Neuropathy Treatment in Lucknow, India:

Call us at +91-9076972161
Email at care@tenderpalm.com

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