Leg pains can be constant to irregular, suddenly or gradually and affect your entire leg or a specific are. Sometimes leg pain is simply irritating and annoying but severe pain can cause trouble in walking and bear the body weight on your leg.
Leg pain occurs when nerves respond to stimuli such as high levels of pressure, low or high temperatures, which is due to tissue damage. Pain in the leg can be sharp to dull, tingling, burning, radiating, or aching.
Categories of Leg Pain
Most of the leg pains occur due to the overuse, wear, and tear, or injuries in joints, bone or muscles, ligament, tendons, or other soft tissues. You may also face leg pain due to the blood clots, varicose veins or poor circulation.
However, leg pain can be classified into neurological, vascular, and musculoskeletal pain. Causes of the leg pain can also overlap.
Vascular Pain
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), cellulitis, infections, and varicose veins are the main causes of vascular pain. Here pain is accompanied due to the discoloration of the skin.
Neurological Pain
The main causes of neurological pain are restless leg syndrome (RLS), neuropathy, or nerve damage, and sciatic nerve pain.
Musculoskeletal Pain
Crepitus, mostly recognized by popping or cracking sound in the knee or arthritis. If a tendon, muscle or ligament is strained, any pain will be musculoskeletal.
Some common causes of leg pain are:
- Broken Leg
- Bone cancer
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Claudicating
- Bursitis
- Knee bursitis
- Muscle strain
- Septic arthritis
Types of Leg Pain
Leg Cramps
In this, pain can last for several minutes. The muscle and the calf at the back of lower leg go into spasm.
Cramps are common in nights and more common in older people. Every 1 out of 3 aging over 60 face cramps at night, and 40 percent experience 3 attacks per week.
Peripheral arterial disease
Peripheral arterial disease or (PAD) can cause leg pain due to the poor circulation of blood. It can be chronic and severe if not treated on time.
Intermittent claudication causes the blood supply to the leg muscles to become restricted.
Claudication involves:
- Pain in the buttocks
- A cramp-like pain during exertion
- Leg pain when walking or climbing
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis or (DVT) is a term used for a blood clot in the deep veins of the legs. You can face this if spend a long time sitting down.
Symptoms are swelling and painful feeling on one side of the leg. This can resolve to own its own. But you feel dizziness and sudden shorten of breath, emergency attention is needed.
Fractures and Stress fractures
Heavy pressure from fall can lead to fractures. Some fractures are visible immediately with severe bruising and swelling and deformation.
Stress fractures are small fractures caused by repetitive stresses.
Sciatic nerve pain
When pressure is put on a nerve,
It usually happens when a nerve is pinched in a muscle.
Long-term effects are strains in other body parts.
Compartment syndrome
An injury to the leg results in swelling, dangerous levels of pressure in the muscles can lead to acute or chronic compartment syndrome.
The swelling cause pressure to build up until the blood supply to muscle and tissues is cut off. The pain may unexpectedly severe with increment in it.
Home Treatment
Sports Injury treatment
Minor leg injuries like strains and sprains can be treated at home;
- Rest – to prevent further injury and allowing healing time
- Compression – use of elastic bandage firmly
- Ice – to reduce swelling, pain, and inflammation.
- Elevation – to reduce swelling and pain, lift the leg up above the level of the heart
Circulatory Problems
To reduce cardiovascular risk factors,
- Avoid smoking
- Do moderate exercise
- Control blood pressure
- Manage cholesterol and lipids
Minor leg pain can be treated at home but if the pain is chronic and sudden, medical attention may be necessary. If home treatment does not work, you can use medication to reduce the pain. If you experience sudden or chronic pain you can buy pain medicine online. This will help your body to minimize the effects of pain and in a result, you will feel relax.
Partner Posts
Comments 0