Pain and heaviness in the legs

Causes of leg pain

As already mentioned, the reasons why legs hurt can be very different. They can be caused by a number of diseases, the first of which is vascular. They are followed by diseases of the spine and inflammation of muscle tissue.

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Vascular diseases of the legs

Diseases of the blood vessels of the legs, which are characterized by pain symptoms localized in the legs, include:

• varicose veins - characterized by dull, aching pain, which is accompanied by heaviness in the legs and cramps in the calf muscles;
• thrombophlebitis - characterized by constant pain that is pulsating in nature; often they turn into a burning sensation under the skin, especially with this disease the calves of the legs hurt;
• thrombosis - characterized by unexpected sharp pain and accompanied by heaviness, a feeling of fullness and swelling;
• obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremities - characterized by pain in the calf muscles of the legs and thigh muscles (this is especially evident when walking and subsides when moving);
• Leriche syndrome - characterized by intermittent claudication and pain in the left or right leg.

Spinal diseases

Spinal conditions that cause leg pain include:

• lumbar osteochondrosis - degenerative processes occurring in the spine cause radiating pain;
• herniated disc in the lumbar region - characterized by pain radiating to the buttock and the entire leg up to the foot, accompanied by burning, numbness of the limb and tingling;
• sciatica is a pain symptom caused by pinched nerve endings, the sciatic nerve.

Muscle tissue diseases

Muscle tissue diseases that cause pain in the leg muscles include:

• myositis, which can have an infectious etiology, and also develop due to overload;
• myoenthesitis, which is caused by excessive professional physical activity;
• Fibromyalgia, which mostly affects women and is characterized by widespread muscle pain in one or both legs.

Pain in the above diseases starts from the hips and “goes down”; sometimes convulsive syndrome occurs.

Joint diseases

Speaking about diseases that cause pain in the legs, one cannot fail to mention the following:

• different types of knee arthritis;
• degenerative diseases of the hip joint (coxitis, coxarthrosis);
• gout of the legs - gnawing pain, worsens at night; throbbing pain in the big toe;
• erysipelas.

Pain in left leg

General information

Legs are a paired organ of support and movement for a person.
The leg anatomically consists of three main parts: the thigh;

shins;

feet.

The hip is formed by the femur (the most massive and durable of human bones) and the patella, which protects the knee joint. The tibia is formed by the tibia and fibula. The foot is made up of many small bones. The place where the femur meets the pelvic bone is called the hip joint.

The articulation of the femur and tibia is called the knee joint , and the articulation of the tibia with the bones of the foot is called the ankle joint . The Achilles tendon limits the movement of the foot relative to the shin bone. Injuries to the ankle and especially the knee joint are dangerous because they often cause irreversible damage. Pain and heaviness in the legs become life companions for many people. Some people continue to suffer from such pain for a long period of time. Meanwhile, it is extremely necessary to diagnose and identify the cause of the discomfort. After all, it is much easier to cure a disease at an early stage than an advanced one.

Causes of pain in the left leg

There are several reasons that cause pain in the left leg. These are diseases of the spine, joints, blood vessels of the legs, or muscles. Most often, pain in the left leg is associated with vascular diseases. This occurs due to a violation of the outflow of venous blood and a resulting increase in pressure in the vessels. The resulting venous congestion causes irritation of nerve endings and the development of pain. Most often, such pain in the left leg is “dull” in nature, and heaviness is felt in the leg. Thus, varicose veins gradually develop. With another vascular disease - thrombophlebitis , there is pain of a pulsating nature, often turning into a burning sensation under the skin. With thrombophlebitis, pain in the left leg is constant, especially pain in the calf muscles. Another cause of pain in the left leg is atherosclerosis of the arteries . With this disease, the walls of blood vessels thicken, and the patient feels squeezing pain in the calf muscles. Most often, atherosclerosis causes pain in the lower leg muscles. The pain intensifies when walking. A characteristic symptom of atherosclerosis is the feeling of cold feet , regardless of the time of year. The next group of diseases that provoke the appearance of pain in the left leg are diseases of the spine . Existing disorders in the functioning of the spine, for example, in the intervertebral discs, lead to the appearance of so-called radiating pain, radiating to the leg. This type of pain can include sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve). With this disease, pain from the spine along the sciatic nerve is transmitted to the legs.

Femoral nerve damage

Most often, this disease is secondary to lumbar osteochondrosis , less commonly spondylitis (especially in children), spinal tumors and is characterized by pain along the anterior inner surface of the thigh. There is pain on palpation along the femoral nerve. Positive symptoms of nerve tension: pain along the front surface of the thigh when bending the leg at the knee joint with the patient lying on his stomach; the strength of the quadriceps muscle is reduced, the knee reflex is reduced or absent, hypoesthesia in the area of ​​innervation of the femoral nerve. Pain syndrome due to damage to the femoral nerve should be differentiated from pain syndrome resulting from inflammation of the iliopsoas muscle (psoitis), which is accompanied by flexion contracture of the hip. Very often, pain in the left leg is associated with joint diseases. The pain seems to “twist” the leg. An exacerbation of this pain syndrome is observed when the weather changes. At more serious stages of joint diseases, pain can be constant, sometimes simply excruciating. This is especially true for attacks of pain due to gout. Pain in the knee joint may indicate destruction of the cartilage of this joint. But an accurate diagnosis and prescription of medications can only be made by an experienced specialist. Peripheral nerve diseases can also cause pain in the left leg. With neuralgia, pain is paroxysmal in nature and occurs along the nerve fibers. In the intervals between attacks, there is practically no pain, and the painful attack itself can last from several seconds to several minutes. The most severe pain in the left leg occurs when the muscles become inflamed. Myositis is a rather serious disease that must be treated under constant medical supervision. Pain in the left leg can be caused by an infectious bone disease such as osteomyelitis. The pain in this disease is acute and prolonged. In this case, the cause of pain is the bones themselves. In some cases, the cause of pain in the left leg is an injury (bruise, fracture, sprain or rupture of ligaments and muscles), then the sequence of actions is more or less obvious. However, sometimes the damage develops gradually as a result of excessive physical activity, performing exercises without prior warm-up, wearing uncomfortable shoes, or running on a hard surface. Sharp pain in the lower leg of the left leg, combined with sudden redness of the skin and an increase in temperature, indicates erysipelas (erysipelas). Dense swelling, pulsating and bursting pain in the lower leg may indicate the following problems:

• thrombosis;
• lymphedema;
• purulent inflammatory process (phlegmon).

At the same time, they strengthen when palpating and working the muscles. You should seek medical help if the pain in the legs does not go away for three or more days, spreads to all parts of the lower extremities, is accompanied by weakness, numbness and coldness, cyanosis or swelling of the skin.

Prevention and treatment

In order to prevent pain in your left leg, you must follow some rules. For example, for vascular problems it is necessary:

• Limit fatty, cholesterol-rich foods in your diet;
• lose weight;
• regularly perform a special set of exercises to prevent the development of varicose veins.

Try to avoid prolonged standing or sitting. When working sedentary or standing, it is necessary to take breaks and change positions regularly. You should consult a doctor if sharp pain in the leg does not subside within three days, and also:

• The legs become numb, cold and weak;
• pain radiates to the upper and lower parts of the legs;
• the skin turns blue and swells;
• After the injury, severe swelling appeared.

If you have problems with the spine or joints, it is necessary to promptly treat these diseases and follow the doctor’s instructions. For a problematic spine and frequent radiating pain in the right leg, regular massage courses are useful. Performing exercises aimed at strengthening the abdominal muscles leads to a decrease in muscle tension in the lower back and, as a rule, reduces the frequency of radiating pain.

Our doctors

Diagnosis of pain includes:

• collecting an anamnesis about the localization and nature of pain, its manifestation in the other leg, depending on the time of day, body position, state of rest and stress, as well as the symptoms that accompany it;
• Conducting a visual examination with tests, palpation and checking reflexes;
• conducting an ultrasound examination of the vessels of the sore leg;
• performing radiography;
• MRI, which allows you to determine the condition of blood vessels, cartilage and bone tissue;
• radionuclide scanning, which allows you to examine the skeletal system;
• a number of laboratory tests.

If necessary, an ultrasound of the abdominal organs is performed to identify abnormalities in the functioning of the kidneys and liver.

The main causes of heaviness in the legs

Static loads

This risk group includes not only those whose activities involve physical activity, but also representatives of “standing” professions. These are teachers, surgeons, hairdressers, i.e. all those people who spend most of their working time on their feet.

Floor

Statistics indicate that women are more likely to experience leg symptoms such as heaviness and pain. Scientists explain this fact by the peculiarities of the hormonal background of women, namely the influence on it of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and the birth process. Also, an important reason for heaviness in the legs of the fair half of humanity is long-term wearing of high-heeled shoes.

Excess weight

Excess weight is the scourge of our time, which contributes to the emergence of a huge number of diseases of a different nature, including creating an increased load on our heart, the occurrence of venous stagnation in the legs and an increase in the amount of fluid between tissues. All this, in turn, both individually and in combination can contribute to the appearance of heaviness in the legs.

Problems with the cardiovascular system

Most diseases of the cardiovascular system lead to problems with blood circulation, which most often manifest themselves in stagnation of blood in the legs and, as a result, pain and heaviness appear. Also, one of the reasons for the appearance of such symptoms is atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities.

The main diseases that contribute to the appearance of pain in the legs

Vascular diseases of the lower extremities

This is perhaps the most common cause of pain in the legs. The outflow of blood is disrupted, which contributes to increased pressure in the vessels. The first signs of the disease are patients’ complaints of heaviness in the legs, however, in the absence of timely treatment, pain may occur.

Thrombophlebitis

Pain syndrome is a characteristic manifestation of this disease. The pain is constant and is localized mainly in the calf muscles of the leg.

Vascular atherosclerosis

At the very beginning of the onset of the disease, heaviness in the legs appears, which gradually develops to pain that intensifies while walking.

Phlebeurysm

Varicose veins are characterized by dilation of the saphenous veins in the legs, which leads to the appearance of spider veins and swelling in the legs.

Patients with this disease can often hear complaints about:

• feeling of numbness;
• feeling of fullness;
• feeling of heaviness in the legs;
• pain syndrome in the lower extremities.

The manifestation of symptoms worsens in the evening.

Spinal diseases

Very often, the cause of pain in the legs is a back problem, namely spinal diseases. Among which:

• protrusion;
• spinal hernia;
• sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve).