Why legs hurt and what to do to feel better

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Where does the discomfort come from and when you urgently need to see a doctor.

Pain in the legs is an unpleasant phenomenon, albeit not surprising. The lower limbs take on more stress during the day than any other part of the musculoskeletal system. Especially if your work is standing or, for example, you are fond of something like triathlon.

The pain can vary over a very wide range: from mild numbness and throbbing, which disappear on their own in a few minutes, to exhausting pulling sensations or cramps that can interrupt even a night's sleep. Fortunately, in most cases, such attacks do not threaten anything serious. However, there are options …

But before we find out the causes of the discomfort, let's figure out when it is not worth reflecting on the question: "Why do your legs hurt?"

When to see a doctor

Call an ambulance immediately if:

1. The pain prevents you from walking or shifting your weight on your leg.
2. An open fracture or deep cut is evident.
3. You observe several symptoms at once at the same time - pain, swelling, redness, a sharp increase in temperature in the limb.
4. Before you feel pain, you heard a loud click, as if something jumped out in your leg, or a grinding sound.

See your doctor as soon as possible if:

1. There are signs of infection: the skin on the leg turns red, becomes hot to the touch, all this is accompanied by an increase in body temperature in general.
2. The leg is swollen, the skin on it is pale and / or seems very cold.
3. Edema is observed in both legs and is accompanied by some kind of breathing problems.
4. Your shins hurt a lot after sitting for a long time. For example, after a long bus trip or flight.
5. You see any painful symptoms that develop in the legs for no obvious reason.

Schedule a visit to a physician or surgeon soon if:

1. You regularly experience pain during or after walking.
2. Swelling of the lower extremities pursues you.
3. Painful sensations, which were initially almost imperceptible, seem to increase over several days in a row.
4. You have noticed swollen veins on your leg that are unpleasant to touch.

If you do not have any of the listed symptoms, you can exhale: most likely, nothing terrible happens to your legs. Of course, this does not mean that you can forget about discomfort. But chances are great to deal with the reasons on your own. Let's get started.

What to do right now if your legs hurt

Leave your feet alone

Just let them rest: lie down, if possible, raising your legs slightly above the level of your heart (this can be done with a roller placed under the ankles). This position will improve venous blood flow, reduce swelling and relax muscles.

Make a cold compress

Apply an ice pack wrapped in a thin towel (or, for example, frozen peas or other convenience foods that you find in your freezer) to the area from which you think the painful sensations emanate. The duration of the compress is 15–20 minutes, repeat three times a day as needed.

Take an over-the-counter pain reliever

Preparations based on ibuprofen and sodium naproxen have proven themselves well.

Have a massage

Massage helps in cases when pain is caused by a cramp or overtakes you after physical activity - a long walk or jog.

Why do my legs hurt?

After making sure that there are no dangerous symptoms right now and having alleviated the condition, you can try to independently analyze what caused the discomfort. In fact, there can be a lot of causes of pain in the legs. Here are a few of the more common ones.

Fatigue after exercise

Or, in a simpler way, DOMS. Maybe you've overextended yourself after neglecting your workouts for a long time. Or they chose not very comfortable shoes. Or, when planning a 10-kilometer run, they forgot about the warm-up and the cool-down. All this often becomes the cause of the dizziness, which, fortunately, goes away quickly enough by itself.

Microtrauma

Perhaps you have recently stumbled, but did not attach any importance to it. Meanwhile, the awkwardness led to a slight sprain or rupture of a number of tendon fibers. Such injuries are not fatal and most often heal by themselves, but they can deliver several unpleasant minutes, or even hours.

Developing diabetes mellitus

Even at the very start, this disease affects the peripheral nerves, which reverberates with numbness, goose bumps and soreness in the area of the legs, calves and feet. The most common discomfort is during sleep.

Therefore, if goose bumps and cramps in the calf muscles began to haunt you too often, it would be useful to check your blood sugar level and consult an endocrinologist.

Pregnancy

Almost all expectant mothers are familiar with rather painful cramps in the legs. Discomfort is caused by mineral metabolism disorders that often accompany pregnancy. Most often, seizures occur due to a deficiency of potassium, calcium, magnesium, or vitamin B6. And doctors are well aware of this: in case of complaints, they prescribe to patients complexes of vitamins and microelements that can compensate for the lack of important substances.

Osteoporosis

Calf cramps and pain are the most common symptoms of calcium deficiency. Please note: even if you suspect this particular option, only a doctor can diagnose and prescribe any drugs. Therefore, be sure to consult with a therapist and take the tests recommended by him.

Varicose veins

With varicose veins of the lower extremities, the work of the valves that allow blood to pass through the veins is disrupted. Because of this, the veins increase in size, the outflow of blood worsens, edema and soreness occur. There can be many reasons for varicose veins, and the discovered discomfort requires the consultation of a phlebologist.

Myalgia

Muscle pain of this origin is pulling or twitching in nature and may worsen during physical exertion or in cold and damp weather. If you suspect myalgia, you should contact a neurologist: he will diagnose and, if necessary, prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relieving gels and ointments for you.

Flat feet

You can also recognize this ailment visually: it is often accompanied by an increase in the size of the leg and / or the appearance of a protruding bone. A companion of developing flat feet is aching pain in the feet and legs, which increases in the evening, as well as fatigue when walking. With similar problems, it is worth contacting an orthopedist.

Lumbosacral osteochondrosis

This disease makes itself felt as a shooting pain from the heels to the buttocks, mainly on the back or lateral surface of the leg. For help, you need to contact a neurologist or a spine surgeon (specialist in the treatment of the spine).

Be that as it may, it will be useful to remind that only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Therefore, if your legs hurt regularly, consult at least a therapist.