MRI showed nothing wrong but still in pain?

[garlictwist]

I've been having what feels like nerve pain in my lower leg/shin/ankle for some time. It might not be nerve pain at all, as I don't really know enough about it, but it's kind of a tingly, burning sensation that spreads across the leg, sometimes a dull and heavy ache.

I had a (private and v expensive for me) MRI because I was worried. It came back that everything looked normal. But I am still in increasing pain and struggling to sleep because of it.

I have an appointment with the GP that I've been waiting for for 2 months next week but I am not sure what they'll be able to do.

Any ideas what my next steps should be?

They can't treat what can't be diagnosed.
Is it possible that lots of neuropathy things can't be diagnosed with MRI?
Physiotherapy or gentle exercise might still help.

What is your physical & mental health like, otherwise? What issues aren't ideal?

Your GP will assess and examine you. There are lots of causes of pain that won't show up on an MRI. It also might be that they scanned the 'wrong' area - pain in the shin could either be coming from the shin itself or the lower back.
They might suggest trying medication for nerve type pain.

I fear this. People have said the sane to me. I have back pain. X Ray abc ultrasound showed nothing. Gp referred to MSK, 13 week wait.

Meanwhile I've seen privately oesteopath, physio, chiropractor. None know what's wrong. I paid for a Cortizone injection privately. £275. I also paid to see a consultant privately , £250. He wants me to have an MRI costing £780.

I'm getting nowhere, it's been 3 months. I fear MRI will show nothing.
My GP has at least ordered x Ray, ultrasound and chased MSK. And given painkillers which have been useless.

Ask your gp to order all those for and refer on if they show nothing.

It's easy for people to sit back and say an MRI might not show much. It sometimes doesn't. But most consultants consider MRI the ultimate. And if it doesn't show the problem, you are left floundering, not knowing what's wrong. And that's very upsetting health wise, because there no resolution, if you don't know what the core problem is.

Sorry to hear you're in the same boat, @Oblomov23 . I am starting to worry that this is it now and I'll be stuck with the pain forever. I mean, in some ways it's good that it didn't show anything serious but it also leaves me with no clue about how to move forward.

I had neuropathy from chemo and had similar symptoms so it possibly is neuropathy. I am now getting similar again down right side with numbness, my pain is mild but some people get it with stronger pain. I also had similar a few years back and was given brain and spine mri but all that showed was white matter disease which they said may have been caused by TIAs or migranes, probably TIAs. It may be worth getting blood tests done for things like diabetes, vitamins, kidney etc to see I any underlying reason. Otherwise I find exercise helps and some people have pain meds.

They also mentioned to me can be psychological not as in you are imagining pain but as in your mental pain is coming out as physical pain.

Hi OP if the MRI didn’t show up anything specific that could be fixed mechanically (by an operation etc) then the next move is generally into longer term pain management. Assuming you’ve tried physio etc. an osteopath might be worth a go if you haven’t tried that.

Anyway there are lots of different drugs out there for chronic pain, they each come with different side effects and it can take a while to down the right mix of things for you.

A tens machine can be useful for pain management, it’s worth having a look at them and mentioning it when you see the gp. A physio can help show you where you put the pads.

You have my sympathies though, nerve pain is rubbish. I spent about 10 years trying to manage it after a car accident. MRIs etc didn’t show anything to suggest a way of fixing it. My nerves were just very angry. Luckily for me being pregnant seemed to reset things a bit!

keep exercising if you can, getting stronger can only be helpful.

Have you looked up chronic regional pain syndrome? I don’t know if any advise for that would be useful to you.

I would see a physio.

I get pains down one leg into the sole of my foot which can be alleviated with some lower back and glutes stretching exercises.

I am not trying to minimse your or anyone else's situation; it could be serious, but it could equally be a nerve in your back or neck somewhere being irritated by tight muscles, or some kind of muscular imbalance or something else being out of alignment.