Cervical osteochondrosis and weakness in the lower extremities: how is it related?

What is heaviness in the legs

The feeling of heaviness in the legs is quite common. After a day spent on their feet, many noted the appearance of this symptom. According to modern statistics, for 30% of the world's population, heavy legs are a constant companion. The legs “hum”, “ache”, there is constant fatigue in the lower extremities; these symptoms also occur in most patients with venous pathology.

Heavy legs

How are diseases that cause pain when raising the leg diagnosed?

Correct treatment requires highly accurate diagnostics, for which our medical center uses the latest equipment. A set of studies to make a diagnosis may include:

• X-ray examination;
• Magnetic resonance imaging;
• CT scan;
• microbiological examination;
• rheovasography of the arteries of the lower extremities;
• duplex scanning (USD);
• study for tumor markers;
• serological analysis;
• puncture bone biopsy;
• skeletal scintigraphy;
• ankle pressure index;
• angiography of leg vessels;
• biochemical and general analysis of blood and urine, blood glucose.

Causes of heaviness in the lower extremities

The cause of heaviness in the legs is congestion due to impaired venous outflow. The most intense symptom of heaviness in the legs appears in the evening.

Why does heaviness appear in the legs:

• Continuous static load. This is relevant for those professions where a person is forced to stand most of the time (surgeons, teachers, hairdressers). Also, office workers, where a person spends a long time in a sitting position, are susceptible to the symptom of heaviness in the legs.
• Physical inactivity and increased body weight.
• Hormonal changes. This situation concerns, first of all, women.
• Pregnancy. Increased pressure in the abdominal cavity due to fetal growth often leads to a slowdown in venous outflow of the lower extremities.

The leading cause of heaviness in the legs is varicose veins. Violation of the outflow of venous blood leads to its stagnation in the distal parts of the lower extremities. The feeling of heaviness with varicose veins is long-lasting. The heaviness does not go away even after a night's rest and the legs do not fully recover. Elastic compression will have a good effect in relieving the severity of varicose veins. However, this effect will be temporary. For a good long-term solution to the problem of heaviness in the lower extremities, you need to consult a specialist, a phlebologist.

Varicose veins are the main, but far from the only reason for the development of heaviness in the legs. Heaviness in the legs can also be a symptom of the following pathological conditions:

1. Lymphedema. This pathology of the lower extremities is caused by a violation of the outflow of lymphatic fluid.
2. Violation of the arch of the foot (longitudinal and transverse flat feet). Due to a non-physiological setting, the musculoskeletal and vascular systems of the lower extremities experience additional stress. This leads to a feeling of heaviness and swelling in the lower extremities.
3. Cardiac pathology. This group of diseases affects both arterial and venous blood flow. Most patients with heart pathology note increased heaviness in the legs. Heart diseases.
4. Kidney diseases. Heaviness in the legs is caused by excess fluid in the soft tissues, including the lower extremities.

Heavy leg syndrome: what is it and what are the reasons for its development?

Heavy leg syndrome is a condition in which the veins of the lower extremities undergo pathological transformation. Under normal conditions, venous valves control the movement of blood flow from the periphery to the heart and prevent the reverse flow of blood. However, under the influence of predisposing factors, the valves of the venous vessels do not cope with their task and a person develops varicose veins, which is the main cause of heavy leg syndrome. What are the prerequisites for its development?

heavy leg syndrome

Heavy leg syndrome - why does it occur?

• Hereditary predisposition. If parents or close relatives have varicose veins, then the tendency to problems with venous valves will be inherited.
• Physical inactivity. Lack of movement is one of the common causes of varicose veins. Many office workers and freelancers who spend most of the day at the computer suffer from this problem.
• Staying on your feet for a long time due to the characteristics of your professional activity. Salespeople, couriers, hairdressers, waiters and other people who are forced to spend all day on their feet often complain of the development of heavy leg syndrome.
• Prolonged immobilization. If a person is forced to spend a long time in bed (for example, after fractures or operations), he runs the risk of disrupting venous blood flow.
• Obesity. Excess weight puts additional pressure on the legs, which can cause the venous valves to malfunction.
• Pregnancy. According to statistics, every third woman experiences heavy leg syndrome during pregnancy. This prevalence of pathology is associated with increasing pressure on the legs, an increase in the volume of venous blood and changes in the hormonal levels of the expectant mother.
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system. Disturbances in the functioning of the heart valves, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol levels and other malfunctions of the cardiovascular system create the preconditions for the occurrence of heavy leg syndrome.
• Wrong lifestyle. Insufficient fluid intake, unbalanced diet, smoking and drinking alcohol, frequent wearing of tight trousers and high-heeled shoes - all this can lead to the development of varicose veins.

Expert opinion

According to statistics, about 10% of the adult population of developed countries suffers from heavy leg syndrome. This figure increases with age. As a result, the disorder affects approximately 15% of older adults.

Vascular surgeon, phlebologist

Osipova Ekaterina Yakovlevna

Frequently asked questions from patients about heavy legs

Heaviness in the legs, reasons why it occurs?

There are many reasons known to modern science for the feeling of heaviness in the legs. In addition to diseases, the cause may be uncomfortable shoes and prolonged static loads. The main cause of pathological severity in the lower extremities is varicose veins.

Swelling and heaviness in your legs appear, what should you do?

If you have swelling and heaviness in your legs, you need to visit a phlebologist and perform a duplex ultrasound examination of the venous system of the lower extremities. Evening swelling and a feeling of heaviness may be the first signs of serious venous pathology.

What is the cause of heaviness in the legs below the knee?

The most likely cause of heaviness in the legs is chronic venous insufficiency, as a consequence of varicose veins. It is this pathology of the venous system that causes a feeling of heaviness in the lower extremities in hundreds of millions of people around the world every day.

How to get rid of heavy legs?

In order to get rid of heaviness in the lower extremities, you need to eliminate the cause of this condition. Any treatment must begin with diagnosis. You need to go to a good phlebological center, see a competent phlebologist and follow the specialist’s recommendations.

Therapy

Depending on the final diagnosis, a specific type of therapy or a combination of the following is prescribed:

• medicinal. Includes taking painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, chondroprotectors and other medications;
• injections into the affected area and application of medicinal ointments;
• physiotherapy. It includes: magnetic laser therapy, darsonvalization, ultraviolet irradiation, electrophoresis and other methods;
• manual therapy and massage;
• physical therapy;
• surgical intervention.

Heavy Leg Syndrome: Treatment

Heavy leg syndrome, treatment
If you experience the symptoms described above, do not delay a visit to a phlebologist. Self-medication is highly discouraged - it is better to trust specialists in the matter of therapy. The diagnosis is made based on a visual and physical examination of the patient, as well as data obtained from vascular ultrasound and duplex angioscanning.

To return blood vessels to normal tone and normalize valve function, the following methods are used:

• The use of phlebotropic drugs. These products help strengthen the walls of blood vessels and increase their elasticity, reduce swelling of the lower extremities and reduce their pain.
• Wearing compression garments. Special stockings, stockings and tights exert graduated pressure on the veins of the legs, normalizing the speed of blood flow and reducing swelling of the lower extremities.
• Surgical intervention. If the disease is at an early stage of development, laser or sclerotherapy is used to eliminate spider veins and spider veins. If the pathological process has reached an advanced stage, the patient may be recommended to undergo phlebectomy - surgical removal of areas of altered veins. Elective surgery is not performed in pregnant women, with severe arterial hypertension, deep vein thrombosis and certain heart diseases.
• Minimally invasive methods for treating heavy leg syndrome. If open surgery is not performed for any reason, and drug therapy has proven to be ineffective, methods for treating varicose veins without surgery are prescribed. For example, this could be sclerotherapy or radiofrequency ablation.

Possible problems

The most common diseases of the knee joints are arthrosis and arthritis. The former are characterized by a violation of the integrity of the cartilage tissue of the joint, the latter by problems with the immune system. In addition, pain can also occur due to injuries - fractures, dislocations, ligament tears and meniscal injuries. But usually such problems are accompanied by sharp pain and the inability to step on the leg.

Let's take a closer look at the problems of diseases. Speaking of arthrosis, we can say that it mainly affects older people, whose joints may have weakened and worn out. The disease begins with minor damage to the cartilage tissue surrounding the joint. Since cartilage is responsible for softening the friction of bones during movement, its wear and tear is very harmful. At the beginning, microscopic damage occurs with the slightest cracks that are not visible even on x-rays. Then the cracks increase, gradually erasing the cartilage. The loss of elasticity has a bad effect on the mobility of the joint - it is difficult for a person to bend and straighten the leg, swelling appears, and the knees hurt when walking up the stairs.

The nature of arthritis often leads not only to joint destruction, but also to various inflammatory processes. A malfunction of the immune system provokes the destruction of bone cells by the body itself, which mistakenly takes them for viruses. This process is also lengthy, and if there are any infections or viruses in the body, it can develop into bursitis, synovitis or other inflammations.

The injury also causes discomfort in the affected area. A person may suffer from knee pain for a long time, waiting for the pain to subside, without suspecting a violation of the integrity of one or another part of the joint. Or, on the contrary, sharp pain appears immediately after a blow, fall or other impact.

However, it is not uncommon for knee pain to be caused by simple fatigue or a recent injury. Temporary damage that heals quickly does not bother you for long, and soon the person forgets about the problem. On the other hand, it is distant pain sensations, which are similar to muscle fatigue after a hard day at work, that are the first sign of serious illness. It is precisely because such symptoms in the initial stages of the disease are perceived by the patient as commonplace that treatment takes quite a long time.

Pain in leg muscles

General information

The leg muscles are divided into the muscles of the hip region and the muscles of the lower limb. Movements in the hip joint are produced by a number of muscles, among them are:

• internal (iliopsoas, twin, piriformis, internal obturator);
• external (gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and minimus, obturator externus, quadratus and tensor fascia lata).

The muscles of the lower limb include the muscles of the thigh, leg and foot. The leg muscles provide movement in the knee, ankle, foot and toe joints.

Causes of pain in leg muscles

There are several reasons that cause pain in the leg muscles. These are diseases of the spine, joints, blood vessels of the legs, or muscles. Most often, pain in the leg muscles 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 is “dull” in nature, and heaviness is felt in the legs. Thus, varicose veins gradually develop. Dull, aching and stabbing pain in the leg muscles, cramps and heaviness in the legs are very often the result of standing or sedentary work, when due to stagnation in the veins of the legs, normal blood circulation of venous and arterial blood does not occur in the human body, oxygen starvation , and in harmful toxins accumulate in your feet. With another vascular disease, thrombophlebitis, there is pain of a pulsating nature, often turning into a burning sensation under the skin. With thrombophlebitis, pain is constant, especially pain in the calf muscles of the legs. Another cause of leg pain is arterial atherosclerosis . 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 legs 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 legs. The spine itself may not hurt. 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. Quite often, leg pain is associated with joint diseases. The pain seems to “twist” the legs. 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. One of the causes of constant pain in the legs is flat feet . This disease manifests itself in rapid fatigue when walking, a feeling of simply “leaden heaviness” in the legs. If you have flat feet, you should pay attention every day to a special set of exercises, which is developed by your doctor. The condition can also be alleviated by using orthopedic insoles. Peripheral nerve diseases can also cause leg pain. 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 occurs when the leg muscles become inflamed. Myositis is a rather serious disease that must be treated under constant medical supervision. Myositis is inflammation of skeletal muscles. It can occur as a complication of various diseases, such as influenza. A common cause of myositis is muscle overstrain due to unusual physical activity or injury to the leg muscles.

With myositis, aching pain appears in the leg muscles, which intensifies with movement. Often, dense nodules or cords are felt in the muscles. With an open injury, as a result of infection, purulent myositis can develop, which is manifested by: increased body temperature, chills, gradual increase in pain, swelling, thickening and tension of the muscle, redness of the skin over it.

A peculiar form is parasitic myositis, which occurs when muscles are damaged by parasites (Trichinella, cysticerci) and is characterized by fever, pain in the muscles of the limbs, chest, tongue, and masticatory muscles. Pain in the leg muscles 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. Obese people, due to their large body weight and increased pressure on the lower body of the leg, also often experience pain in the leg muscles at any age. With atherosclerosis, after a stroke, after attack , people also often have pain in their leg muscles, they are tormented by rheumatic diseases, their legs often swell, ache, ache from the cold and anticipate changes in the weather.

Fibromyalgia can occur in a variety of locations, but it most often affects the back of the head, lower back (lumbago), neck, shoulder area, chest, and thigh areas near the knee joint. This pain occurs mainly in women. It can be caused or intensified by the following factors :

• physical or mental overload;
• sleep disorders;
• injury, dampness or cold;
• rheumatic diseases.

Leg cramps are involuntary contractions of individual muscles or muscle groups. They can be caused by prolonged physical stress, overwork, and most often occur in the calf muscle. To stop them, it is recommended to relax your muscles . To do this, just lie down or sit down, thereby changing the position of the limb, and strongly rub the cramped muscle with your hands. Then apply a towel soaked in cold water or stand with your bare feet on the cold ground. Myoenthesitis , paratenonitis are the result of chronic overstrain of the leg muscles after an load of inadequate intensity, especially if it is combined with general fatigue, any chronic disease, cooling and other unfavorable factors. They manifest themselves as pain and swelling in the corresponding muscle area of ​​the leg. Myoenthesitis at the junction of the muscle belly with the tendon, paratenonitis in the tissue around the tendon, and insertitis at the site of attachment to the bone. With the long-term existence of this disease and continued stress, muscle ruptures and separation from the place of attachment often occur.

Prevention and treatment

In order to prevent pain in the leg muscles, you must follow some rules. For example, in case of vascular problems , it is necessary to limit fatty, cholesterol-rich foods in the diet, lose excess weight, and 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. If you have problems with the spine or joints, it is necessary to promptly treat these diseases and follow the doctor’s instructions. For problematic spine and frequent radiating pain in the legs, massage sessions 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.

Symptoms of Heavy Leg Syndrome

This pathology can be recognized by the following signs:

• The appearance of a characteristic vascular pattern on the legs: bluish “stars” and mesh. As heavy leg syndrome progresses, the veins become dilated.
• A feeling of pain, heaviness and fullness in the lower extremities, intensifying after a long stay in a static position and disappearing after a night's rest.
• Swelling of the legs and itchy skin.
• Spasmodic muscle contractions (especially in the evening and at night) are the main feature of restless legs syndrome (RLS), which is a type of heavy legs syndrome. Involuntary twitching of the limbs interferes with normal sleep, which is why patients complain of insomnia and fatigue during the day.

Expert opinion

These symptoms are most often ignored by most people for a long time. As a result, the disease progresses, the patient’s condition worsens - this can lead to complications of varicose veins, including thrombosis and thrombophlebitis. Therefore, do not ignore the symptoms that arise and go to see a doctor.

Vascular surgeon, phlebologist

Osipova Ekaterina Yakovlevna