Meralgia paresthetica in differential diagnosis of low-back pain.

OBJECTIVE: Meralgia paresthetica is a syndrome of pain or dysesthesia or both in the anterolateral thigh, caused by entrapment of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve at the anterior superior iliac spine. The aim of this report is to emphasize that meralgia paresthetica can be confused with low-back pain.

PATIENT: A 21-year-old man was admitted to hospital because of low-back and thigh pain. He had a history of low-back pain. Physical examination and radiologic studies for low-back pain and radiculopathy showed no pathologic findings. It was suspected that the most likely cause was lateral femoral cutaneous neuropathy, caused by the wide military belt he continuously wore tightly around his waist.

INTERVENTIONS: The nerve was blocked with 10 ml of bupivacaine 0.25%, which provided immediate pain relief. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug was administered orally.

RESULTS: After 15 days of bed rest and 45 days without the belt, he was completely symptom-free.

CONCLUSIONS: It is important to be rigorous in investigating the etiology of low-back pain. Meralgia paresthetica can mimic low-back pain because of the similarity of the symptoms. It can be treated by conservative or ablative therapeutic interventions; however, conservative methods should be considered primarily.