A common source of pain in the legs with standing or walking is a condition known as lumbar spinal stenosis. If your physician has examined you and ruled out circulatory problems, then pain or tingling in the legs with advanced age is often related to nerve compression in the lumbar spine.

With advancing age, the disks often lose their height and start to bulge into the spinal canal. Most patients can tolerate a fair amount of bulging of the disk before nerve compression occurs. However, the size of the canal can be congenitally (from birth) small, or calcium deposits from aging can contribute to narrowing of the spinal canal. The space available for the nerves is further decreased when standing or walking. These positions can aggravate or pinch the spinal nerves and send pain, numbness, or tingling down the legs. This condition is known as spinal stenosis.

An MRI can generally diagnose this condition, and rules out other causes of sciatica, such as a disk herniation. Depending on the amount of compression, you may be a candidate for non-surgical or surgical treatment. Physical therapy is usually ineffective, since the trunk muscles play no role in spinal stenosis. Often patients respond to either oral anti-inflammatory medication (Advil or its equivalent) or sometimes cortisone injections, known as epidurals. If there is advanced compression, your surgeon may recommend decompression of the spinal canal, known as a laminectomy. This is a very effective surgical procedure and return of pain is relatively uncommon.