A patient with radicular leg pain has a positive straight-leg raise test. Which finding would support nerve root irritation?

A patient with radicular leg pain has a positive straight-leg raise test. Which finding would support nerve root irritation?

• A. Pain reproduced with leg raise indicating nerve root irritation
• B. Numbness in the great toe
• C. Pain relieved by straight-leg raise
• D. Sensory loss over the calf

Answer: (A)

Raising the leg stretches the sciatic nerve and the lumbar nerve roots within the dural sac. If a nerve root is irritated—classically by a herniated disc or similar compression—this traction reproduces the radicular pain along the leg. That reproduction of pain with the straight-leg raise is the hallmark of nerve root irritation, which is why this finding supports the diagnosis. Other signs like numbness in the great toe or sensory loss over the calf indicate nerve involvement but do not demonstrate the provocative response from the maneuver itself; and pain relief with the maneuver would argue against nerve root irritation rather than for it.

Raising the leg stretches the sciatic nerve and the lumbar nerve roots within the dural sac. If a nerve root is irritated—classically by a herniated disc or similar compression—this traction reproduces the radicular pain along the leg. That reproduction of pain with the straight-leg raise is the hallmark of nerve root irritation, which is why this finding supports the diagnosis. Other signs like numbness in the great toe or sensory loss over the calf indicate nerve involvement but do not demonstrate the provocative response from the maneuver itself; and pain relief with the maneuver would argue against nerve root irritation rather than for it.