You have successfully answered the question of what is hurting and now are probably wondering why it is hurting. But before we move on to the complex mechanisms of nerve pinching and radiculopathy, we should know some basics about the spinal column.
The Spinal Column is a group of 33 bones which are called vertebrae. These bones are irregular in shape and have elastic disks present between them to help them support weight. These disks are the reason you can freely bend your neck. Since we are interested in the lower back region, also called “lumbar” region, we will focus only on the 5 bones present as well as the sacral region which contains 5 bones fused into one. The spinal chord passes through these bones from behind the elastic disk we mentioned above. Now, the spinal chord gives out nerves from inside the vertebrae and these nerves exit the bone by passing between two successive vertebrae. The nerves that exit the spinal chord in the back are the ones that supply your leg, genital and anal area and if there is too much pressure on them, it can cause pain in the region that these nerves supply.