Difference Between Shooting Pain and Radiating Pain

Shooting pain and radiating pain are two types of pains experienced by people. There are many types of joint pains in human body that show up with age, especially in people who are suffering from osteoporosis and arthritis. In this article we will concentrate upon two special types of pains experienced by people and are aptly named as shooting pain and radiating pain based upon the experiences of the victims of these kinds of pains. Lower back pain has become very common in recent times and today it affects over 80% of adult population. When lower back pain radiates down to legs, it is called radiating pain. This happens as muscles and joints that connect back with legs are affected and people having lower back pain often feel pain in their legs as the pain radiates from back to the legs.

Shooting pain on the other hand is just as if someone has stabbed you with a knife which is why it is called a shooting pain. Arthritis that is inflammatory is the most common cause of shooting pains. However, in some patients, shooting pain may take place because of nerve related problems. While the shooting pain is localized at the very spot it originates, radiating pain, though it may originate somewhere else, causes the person to feel pain in any other part of the body. It spreads like the rays of the sun.

The most common type of radiating pain that starts in the lower back and goes down to legs is called Sciatica. It afflicts millions of people in the world. This is so called because of the nerve called Sciatica that gets irritated because of the lower back pain. This nerve goes down to legs and causes severe pain in the legs of the patient.

Radiating pain is the pain that spreads out. It starts in one area but spreads like sun’s rays and there is debilitating pain in a larger area after some time. When a nerve gets pinched at a particular point, the person feels pain all along the nerve and not just at the spot where it got pinched.