Greetings.
Has she backache? Has she history of injury / accident / sports trauma to back or leg? Any family history of diabetes? Were any investigations done for this? Any past significant illness?
Dr. Arun
No back problems - No injury - No past illness - Great grandfather diabetes when he was 55 yrs old.
Hello,
Her symptoms point towards sciatic nerve involvement. Sitting can cause two phenomenon which may be responsible for her symptoms;
1) Pressure on the nerve directly which causes numbness and stiffness
2) Pressure on the artery feeding the sciatic nerve
Both of these phenomenon can occur because of the compression on the sciatic foramen, through which the nerve passes. This external compression can be from the muscle, tendon, ligament, aberrant artery etc.
She needs to consult with either an orthopedic specialist or a rehab specialist. They would after a physical evaluation will perform neurophysiological studies like nerve conduction study (NCV) and electromyography (EMG). This will further give clues for the management and imaging studies like MRI to be performed. Pyriformis syndrome, Sacroiliac joint hypomobility, Lower lumbar spine dysfunction, etc are the diagnosis for the consideration. Initial treatment usually is physical therapy, but other intervention would depend on the diagnosis.
Please feel free for your follow up questions.
Doctor (MD)
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), Post-doctoral Fellowship in Sports Medicine