Femoral neuropathy is a condition that causes individuals to lose sensation or the ability to properly move parts of their leg. Femoral neuropathy occurs due to damage to the femoral nerve – a critical part of the peripheral nervous system – located between the upper thigh and groin on each leg. The femoral nerve helps with movement and sends signals to the brain to communicate sensations, including pain and temperature.
Patients struggling with femoral nerve pain may face challenges in their everyday life due to sensitivity, weakness, and numbness that makes it difficult to move around. Sometimes, the condition improves on its own, but if symptoms persist, patients may require treatment ranging from physical therapy to surgery to improve their quality of life.
Symptoms of femoral neuropathy can vary depending on how severely the nerve is damaged. Common symptoms include:
Injury, disease, prolonged pressure, or even certain medications can negatively impact the femoral nerve and lead to neuropathy. Most cases can be attributed to one of the following causes:
People with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing peripheral neuropathy, which can include femoral neuropathy, because fluctuations in blood sugar and blood pressure over time can lead to nerve damage.
If left untreated, femoral neuropathy can lead to tissue damage, muscle atrophy, and loss of sensation that puts you at further risk of falling or sustaining another injury.
A medical professional will choose which tests are best to diagnose your femoral nerve pain based on your symptoms and medical history. Tests may include:
Treating the underlying cause of femoral neuropathy (nerve damage) is the most effective path to recovery. Reversing nerve damage can be achieved with surgery. As medical advancements are made, more and more patients can opt for surgery to improve their quality of life, despite the conventional belief that there is no cure for neuropathy.
Patients with less severe injuries have conservative treatment options available as well, including pain medications to relieve discomfort, corticosteroid injections to reduce inflammation, physical therapy to rebuild muscles and promote mobility, and orthopedic devices to help with everyday movement. People with diabetes may be able to find relief from femoral nerve pain after regulating their blood sugar levels or losing weight.
If your femoral nerve is compressed, especially from a tumor, cyst, or other growth, nerve decompression surgery can remove the underlying cause and relieve the pressure on your nerve. This innovative, minimally invasive procedure involves just three small incisions to allow doctors to release the damaged nerve from whatever is compressing it.
Nerve decompression surgery lasts about an hour and a half and helps most patients achieve significant pain relief and regain some sensation and mobility in their leg immediately. They typically return to everyday activities in two to three weeks and can achieve further improvements and long-lasting results with physical therapy.
Nerve repair surgery is an option for some patients whose femoral nerve is too damaged to heal from decompression alone. It involves removing scar tissue from the nerve endings, then reconnecting the nerve with a small suture to restore its function.
The procedure can take over two hours and recovery times may vary depending on the extent of the damage. Sometimes, the nerve function is restored quickly, other times, it can take months for the injured muscle to fully regrow.
Severe nerve damage may result in a large section of the nerve being crushed or missing. A nerve transplant, sometimes called a nerve graft, involves bridging the gap with nerve tissue taken from somewhere else in the body (autograft) or from a cadaver (allograft). Similar to splicing a wire, the nerve will regenerate through the transplant to restore movement and sensation.
A nerve transplant can take several hours to complete. Recovery can take several weeks or months, as it takes time for the nerve fibers to regrow.
The Institute for Advanced Reconstruction participates in a wide range of insurance plans, including those listed below. However, each physician has their own accepted insurance and hospital affiliations. Before scheduling an appointment, please contact your insurance carrier to confirm that your provider is in-network.
If we are not an in-network provider, our friendly insurance specialists will help you find the most coverage available for your treatment.
If you’re experiencing severe symptoms of femoral neuropathy that affect your ability to do everyday activities,contact the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction and schedule a consultation to find out if you qualify for femoral neuropathy treatment today.
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