Calf pain: 4 dangerous reasons that can cause it

Pain in the calves is a common phenomenon. It often occurs as a result of prolonged physical exertion on the lower extremities and does not signal pathologies. However, the answer to the question “Why do my calves hurt?” is not always clear, since the reasons may lie in very serious diseases. This applies to cases where sharp pain and cramps are repeated regularly or a nagging pain in the leg in the calf does not go away for a long time.

If you are faced with a similar problem, we recommend contacting the CELT Pain Clinic! This is a department that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of pain syndromes in various locations. The high professional level of our specialists, their extensive work experience, along with modern medical equipment and treatment methods, allows them to return our patients to a full life, eliminating pain from it.

At CELT you can get advice from a specialist algologist.

Make an appointment

Causes of pain in calves

The causes of pain in the calves may lie in muscle fatigue, but often such a clinical manifestation can signal pathologies of arterial vessels, veins, tissues, surrounding muscles and the spine. If you constantly have pain in the calf of your left or right leg, or regularly experience leg cramps, you should seek medical help, as the consequences can be unpredictable.

Vein diseases

A pain symptom in venous diseases is a valuable signal, since it is thanks to it that serious pathologies that require immediate medical attention can be identified:

• Varicose veins - characterized by persistent pain in the calf muscles, which is felt in the afternoon and is accompanied by swelling of the ankles. This disease can also be determined visually, since visible dilated veins appear on the lower extremities. The reason that the calf of the right or left leg hurts, in this case, is the development of swelling of the leg, as a result of which compression of the nerve endings occurs;
• Acute venous thrombosis requires immediate treatment, since blood clots that form in the deep veins can enter the vessels of the pulmonary circulation and clog the arteries, leading to pulmonary embolism, which is often fatal. Pain in the affected calf covers the inner surface of the lower leg and spreads up to the thigh and down to the foot. They are accompanied by swelling of the lower leg, a feeling of heaviness in the legs and increased pain when trying to bend the foot.

More about vein thrombosis

Arterial diseases

Arterial diseases cause insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to tissues, which leads to their destruction. The pain in this case is caused by ischemia (lack of blood supply) and is of a different nature for different diseases:

• Acute form of obstruction of arterial vessels - characterized by acute pain with a burning sensation, which is accompanied by swelling of the affected leg and its coldness;
• Chronic arterial insufficiency is characterized by two types of pain: attacks during acute ischemia and constant pain due to chronic insufficiency of blood supply. Both types of pain can be accompanied by cramps, muscle atrophy, ulcers and gangrene.

Muscle diseases

Muscle tissue lesions of various etiologies can also cause pain in the calves:

• Inflammatory processes of the calf muscles (myositis) - characterized by nagging, aching painful sensations that do not stop or occur in attacks and become more pronounced with movements;
• Parasitic diseases (in particular, trichinosis) are characterized by muscle pain, which is accompanied by swelling of the face, fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

More about myositis

Nerve fiber lesions

One of the symptoms of neuritis and polyneuritis is severe nagging pain, which occurs in attacks and can spread along the affected nerve. This manifestation may be caused by compression of the nerve roots. Often, his companions are:

• trophic disorders in the innervated (i.e., organs and tissues supplied by nerves) area;
• feeling of numbness, tingling or pins and needles;
• motor disorders in the innervated area;
• decreased sensitivity.

Other reasons

Pain in the calves may occur due to damage to adjacent tissues:

• osteomyelitis of the tibia;
• diseases of the knee joint;
• ankle joint diseases;
• skin inflammation.

Referred pain in the calves of the lower extremities is one of the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine.

Self-help for sore calf muscles

Before deciding what to do if your calves hurt, you need to understand why this happens. Try to determine the cause of the discomfort yourself - to do this, you need to remember whether you have recently had injuries, hypothermia, long walking, lack of fluid in the body, or insomnia. With dehydration, stress and fatigue, leg pain decreases after:

• light massage;
• warm foot bath with mint, chamomile or salt;
• taking enough fluids;
• recreation.

If injury, vascular pathologies or inflammatory processes are suspected, massage and foot baths are contraindicated. If the pain is very severe, you can take a pain reliever. Local agents in the form of gels and ointments help well.

If you experience frequent pain in your legs, you should consult your doctor as soon as possible. Self-medication can lead to the development of thrombosis, sepsis and other dangerous complications.

How to reduce leg pain on your own?

You can cope with painful sensations in the legs at home with the help of:

• contrast shower,
• recreation,
• wearing compression garments,
• massage,
• analgesic tonic ointments and gels.

In order to properly learn how to cope with leg pain, you must first establish the exact cause of their occurrence. To do this, you will need to see a doctor and undergo a comprehensive examination, which will help identify the nature of the origin of the pain syndrome.

Heavy legs

A feeling of heaviness in the legs is a fairly common reason for a patient to see a doctor. More than a third of the world's population complain of “humming”, “aching” legs, “a feeling of fullness in the legs”, “constant fatigue” in the lower extremities.

The mechanism of occurrence of this disease comes down to congestion in the vessels of the lower extremities, which is worth noting more often develop in the evening after a working day.

Reasons for appearance

• Long-term static loads, especially for people working in offices, chained to computers and, conversely, whose profession involves working on their feet - hairdressers, salespeople, teachers, etc.;
• Sedentary lifestyle;
• Excess body weight. Fatigue occurs both directly due to excess weight and due to increased blood volume. Also, an excess amount of adipose tissue prevents adequate muscle contraction;
• Changes in hormonal levels, especially for women in the second phase of the menstrual cycle;
• Pregnancy can also provoke tension in the legs due to the growth of the child in the womb;
• During the summer period, the heat provokes a decrease in a person’s overall motor activity; as a result, the muscles in the legs work little, which provokes blood stagnation.

However, heaviness in the legs can most often become the “first sign” indicating the development of a serious disease:

Varicose veins of the lower extremities.

In the early stages of varicose veins, a person may notice leg fatigue, which gets worse in the evening. A clear example of this manifestation is when after work you want to “throw” your legs as high as possible. However, varicose veins as such are not always visible. It is worth paying attention to this problem as early as possible, since during this period it is most favorable to carry out therapeutic measures that significantly slow down the course of the disease. But as it progresses, the following complaints may appear:

• Cramps at night. closer to morning;
• Stiffness in the legs in the evening. This is especially noticeable on weekdays;
• The presence of varicose veins on the legs;
• Swelling of the legs above the feet (women especially notice this in winter when the zipper of boots is difficult to fasten in the evening).

However, varicose veins are a fairly slowly progressing disease, even with a fairly large number of affected (dilated) veins, there may not be any complaints as such. But despite the apparent harmlessness of the disease, one should not forget about such a dangerous complication as thrombophlebitis, which is manifested by the appearance of blood clots in the veins, the separation of which and further movement along the vein towards the heart can lead to very serious consequences.

Heaviness in the legs due to illness

1. Lymphostasis (lymphedema)
   - unlike vein pathology, is manifested by swelling of the foot and fingers. Swelling of the dorsum of the foot is compared to a “pillow”, and the toes are compared to “sausages”. Lymphedema usually does not decrease after a night's rest. In the initial stages of the disease, pits remain on the skin of the lower leg from squeezing with fingers. Subsequently, as a result of the development of compaction of the skin, the soft tissues of the lower leg become dense like a shell. With lymphedema, the skin on the back of the foot (the back of the sole) cannot be folded. As a rule, there are no complaints. Sometimes patients feel a feeling of tension in their calves. Lymphedema most often affects one lower limb. Read more about the treatment of lymphostasis
2. Foot deformity (Flatfoot)
   is a foot disease characterized by changes in the architecture of the arch of the foot. There are longitudinal and transverse flat feet depending on the low arch. Often there is a combined longitudinal and transverse flatfoot. In the initial forms of flat feet (grade I), patients are bothered by pain in the legs, increased fatigue of the lower extremities, pain when pressing on the foot or the middle of the sole, and the gait loses its plasticity. As the severity of the disease increases, constant and more intense pain appears in the feet and muscles of the legs, swelling of the feet and ankles by the end of the day, the gait changes significantly, individual tailoring of shoes is required, since it is not possible to wear mass-produced shoes. Upon examination, the foot is flattened, the skin of the sole is calloused, and “halus valgus” is formed - a deformity in the area of ​​the big toe.
3. Heart diseases
   . A number of heart diseases that can lead to a decrease in the efficiency of contraction of the heart muscle can also be accompanied by edema. However, complaints from the heart come to the fore: pain in the heart area, rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) or, conversely, a slowdown in heart contraction (bradycardia), interruptions in heart function, shortness of breath. Upon examination, attention is drawn to pallor of the skin, swelling of the neck veins, and blue discoloration of the extremities (acrocyanosis). Edema in the presence of heart pathology is symmetrical, mainly on the legs and ankles. When examining patients, clinical and laboratory signs of heart pathology are revealed.
4. In case of kidney diseases
   , heaviness of the legs appears in the initial stages of the development of edema. Edema skin is pale, dense, at normal temperature. As a rule, there is no shortness of breath. Patients complain of itching, weakness, decreased appetite, thirst, and increased blood pressure. When examining such patients, anemia, edema up to “anasarca” (total edema of the subcutaneous tissue) and damage to other organs and systems are revealed. The blood coagulation system is disrupted and immunity is reduced.

Features of treatment

The choice of treatment plan for pain in the calves is determined by the causes of the ailment. In most cases, surgical intervention is not required; conservative methods are sufficient: drug therapy, physiotherapy and exercise therapy. These measures help:

• improve blood circulation;
• suppress inflammatory processes;
• eliminate pain and swelling;
• remove toxins;
• strengthen the ligaments and muscles.

Selecting medications and other treatments on your own is dangerous. For example, if there is a tendency to thrombosis, heparin-based drugs are prescribed, but in case of insufficient blood clotting or weakness of the vascular walls, these drugs can cause bleeding. Excessive physical activity can lead to damage to the musculoskeletal system, and insufficient physical activity will not provide the desired therapeutic effect. Therefore, only a doctor should be involved in developing a treatment plan, including a set of exercise therapy exercises.

In the network of clinics “Hello!” Modern diagnostic equipment is used, which makes it possible to accurately diagnose even in the early stages of diseases. Experienced doctors develop individual treatment and rehabilitation regimens for patients based on classical and latest techniques, which allows them to get rid of pain quickly, without side effects or the risk of relapses.

Which doctor should you see if your calves hurt?

To receive medical care, you must visit a physician or orthopedist. If the pain is caused by vascular pathologies, then further treatment will be carried out by a phlebologist. In case of pain after injuries, the treatment plan is drawn up by a traumatologist. To determine the cause of pain, various diagnostic procedures are required:

• ECG;
• Vascular ultrasound;
• blood and urine tests;
• in rare cases - joint puncture;
• X-ray;
• MRI;
• CT.

Treatment methods for leg pain

If alarming symptoms appear, you should contact a therapist or specialized specialist (neurologist, endocrinologist, infectious disease specialist, traumatologist, etc.). Further treatment strategy is based on eliminating the cause of the disease and symptomatic therapy.

Our clinic uses methods of hardware treatment for leg pain, manual therapy, massage, and physiotherapy. The doctor suggests a suitable method of therapy after reviewing the diagnostic results and assessing the patient’s complaints.

Treatment of leg pain using kinesitherapy involves the use of special equipment - European suspension systems. This method is based on the healing power of movement and helps relieve pain, swelling, and improves blood circulation in the extremities.

Manual therapy is effective for pain in the legs of vertebrogenic etiology, that is, caused by a hernia or protrusion of the lumbar disc. In such cases, treatment is carried out using American systems, which are highly effective.

Massage is an effective method of treating leg pain, which helps relieve muscle spasms, increase elasticity and muscle tone, relieve pain and normalize tissue trophism. Therapy is carried out in a course.

Various types of physiotherapy are used to treat leg pain:

• shock wave. It has both a therapeutic and analgesic effect in the treatment of pain in the legs associated with diseases of the joints, ligaments, tendons, after operations and injuries, as well as in diseases of the feet, especially heel spurs (complete cure);
• ultrasonic;
• magnetic therapy;
• phonophoresis;
• electrophoresis;
• quantum therapy;
• electrotherapy;
• cryotherapy.

You can learn more about treatment options for leg pain and what options are right for you at your appointment. Don’t put off solving the problem until later, make an appointment with a specialist as early as possible.