The formal diagnosis for the nerve damage caused by the local radiation to my sacrum (tailbone) in September of 1996 is Radiation-Induced Lumbo-Sacral Plexopathy.

David Emerson's Patient Office Note

Radiation-Induced Lumbosacral Plexopathy
This link is to a good overall description of radiation induced lumbosacral plexopathy. Anyone who has undergone either chemo or radiation therapy and is beginning to experience numbness or tingling should read this article.

Radiation-Induced Lumbosacral Plexopathy (PDF)

In 1997, I began to notice numbness in my feet and calves. By 2000, the numbness was such that I saw a neurologist about it. I was diagnosed as having peripheral neuropathy. In November 2004, I got an EMG test and was re-diagnosed as having radiation-induced lumbosacral plexopathy in addition to the peripheral neuropathy.

This document describes my first two EMG test findings as well as my therapy plan designed by the athletic trainer in charge of my case. Look for an update to this plan and EMG testing every six months or so.

If you think that you may suffer from plexopathy or neuropathy, get an EMG and nerve conduction test taken.

This article was written by my athletic trainer. If you have plexopathy, read this article.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Corrects Sacral Plexopathy.
This is a link to a pubmed abstract that documents a case of radiation induced lumbosacral plexopathy. While I can't figure out how to link to the whole article, what we can read illustrates how hyperbaric oxygen therapy resolved the lumbosacral plexopathy.

PubMed: Case of Delayed Radiation Lumbo-Sacral Plexopathy
This finding makes a link between a patient's radiation treatment for cancer and the progressive development of lower extremity weakness eight years later.