It hurts to step on your foot after sleep: why do your feet hurt?

Heavy legs in the morning is one of the most common problems for some people. Usually this is severe discomfort or heaviness that spreads to different parts of the legs. Many different factors can cause heavy legs to develop in the morning. Heaviness in the legs is usually accompanied by pain or cramps. Feeling tired in the lower extremities without other accompanying symptoms is usually not a cause for concern, but it is important to pay attention to your body. Especially when there are other symptoms besides severity.

A list of some possible reasons that provoke the development of heaviness in the legs in the morning:

• overtraining - during excessive loads, more than usual, and with insufficient rest, heaviness in the lower extremities can develop. The more you train, the more time you need to rest;
• Insufficient physical activity can provoke the development of heaviness in the legs. When the muscles in the legs are not exercised regularly, they become more prone to muscle spasms. The sudden shift or movement of the legs, which often occurs when a person wakes up, leads to muscle strain, which leads to the development of heaviness in the lower extremities. This condition develops in the morning because the leg muscles are inactive during the night, leading to the development of cramps. If you spend a long time in a sitting or lying position, you need to exercise for five minutes every hour. And while in a lying position, it is necessary to give the lower extremities an elevated position, which improves blood circulation in the lower extremities;
• hypokalemia – occurs when the level of potassium in the blood is below normal. This can lead to fatigue, weakness, and leg cramps. Hypokalemia can be triggered by certain medications and diseases;
• poor blood circulation in the legs. Poor blood circulation often develops in the lower extremities, as the outflow of blood is disrupted, which is associated with vascular disease.
• pregnancy – causes changes in hormone levels, increased intra-abdominal pressure, which leads to increased pressure in the veins of the lower extremities. Pregnant women are often bothered by heaviness and spasms in the lower extremities.
• Nerve irritation – This occurs when muscles, tendons and ligaments put pressure on nerves. This can happen when you sleep in certain positions that put pressure on the soft tissue around the tense nerves.
• dehydration caused by poor diet or excessive exercise leads to a lack of fluid in the body, which can cause heaviness in the lower extremities;
• Some types of medications can cause morning heaviness in your legs.

Doctors at the Yusupov Hospital have extensive experience in diagnosing and treating diseases that can lead to the development of heaviness in the legs in the morning. By paying special attention to each patient in collecting complaints and having the most modern diagnostic equipment at their disposal, specialists can make an accurate diagnosis and begin treatment in the shortest possible time. Using only advanced treatment methods that have proven effective in the Russian Federation and abroad allows you to quickly restore lost functions and return to normal everyday life.

Nature of pain

Only a specialist can understand the true cause of painful sensations. But if your feet hurt in the morning, you should know that pain is divided into two main categories. These are external and internal factors in the occurrence of painful sensations.

Typically, the external factors are severe pain as a result of the injury. This could be a bruise, a fracture, incorrectly selected shoes, changes in weather, uncomfortable posture, heavy physical activity, etc.

When such pain occurs, a person knows exactly the reasons for its occurrence. After some time, the pain subsides and no longer bothers you.

But there are also cases when there is no reason for the pain. And pain occurs again and again, causing serious discomfort to the person.

The second category of internal factors refers to processes invisible to the human eye. We are talking about the internal processes of the body that result in pain.

The complaint of most people sounds something like “I get up in the morning and my legs hurt,” but there is no reason for this. Internal factors include inflammation, failure of the circulatory system, and many other diseases.

Plantar fasciitis

Why does your heel hurt in the morning after sleep is a broad question, for which there is simply no clear answer. There are many reasons for the occurrence of a pain impulse in the lower part of the foot, ranging from overwork or injury to diseases of various body systems.

Reference! The pain often subsides in the morning, but may recur during the workday when rising from a chair or stool after prolonged sitting. The reason for this is plantar fasciitis.

This disease is characterized by inflammation of the underlying tissue that connects the heel to other tissues. The sources of this phenomenon may be:

• flat feet - deformation of the foot when its longitudinal and transverse arches drop;
• uncomfortable shoes that squeeze and rub your feet;
• high heels that unevenly distribute the load on the center of the foot;
• increased physical activity, due to which the layer of subcutaneous fat in the sole area has become smaller;
• lack of rest with constant stress on the legs;
• excess weight, which also puts pressure on the feet.

As a result of plantar fasciitis, spurs often form - hard growths on the heel area that interfere with walking and cause discomfort. The disease is mainly typical for older people, in whom tissue elasticity decreases and fascia is damaged.

Rupture of the tissues of the foot affected by plantar fasciitis

After sleep, the patient feels a burning pain (during rest, the problem area has time to recover, and after waking up and taking the first step, the tissues tear again). Even during rest, the discomfort does not completely leave the person - the pain only subsides slightly.

Causes of pain in the legs after waking up

If you periodically experience leg pain in the morning, you should not immediately think about serious illnesses. The reason for this phenomenon may be simple negligence towards one’s own health.

Common catalysts for unpleasant sensations include the following:

Physical activity can be a serious test for joints. The result will be post-workout pain and discomfort. In order to avoid this, you should avoid heavy loads and choose more gentle types of training.

Incorrectly chosen shoes - too tight, wide or equipped with high heels, such shoes will cause discomfort and unpleasant symptoms. The result can be serious illnesses, including varicose veins.

Heavy weight - puts a lot of stress on the legs. In order to get rid of painful sensations, it is important to reduce overall body weight.

Diseases that cause this symptom

In some cases, the feet hurt in the morning due to serious illnesses that require treatment. These include the following:

Varicose veins are one of the most common causes. The disease can be recognized by noticeable swelling, which causes a lot of trouble. The causes of the disease can be many, for example, uncomfortable shoes or a sedentary lifestyle.

Arthritis is an inflammatory process that occurs as a result of constant fatigue, tension or age-related treatments, manifests itself in the form of unpleasant pain in the legs and joints. If left untreated, the disease can progress to a more dangerous stage - arthrosis.

Osteoporosis is a dangerous disease that manifests itself in excessive bone fragility. It may be due to a lack of vitamins or reduced immunity. Most often it occurs in old age.

Rheumatism - the cause of the disease is a streptococcal infection that enters the body. It can appear as a result of diseases such as tonsillitis or tonsillitis. Rheumatism causes discomfort and pain in the joints, constant pain and requires urgent treatment.

Why do my feet hurt in the morning?

If your legs hurt in the morning when you step on them, the reason may lie in your feet. If your feet hurt in the morning, you should pay attention to this sign. This pain can occur for several reasons.

The main ones include injury, uncomfortable shoes or lack of calcium. Children's feet most often hurt during the period of active growth. However, this can also serve as an alarming symptom, for example, of diseases such as hypotension or arthritis.

Why do my calves hurt in the morning?

Pain in the calves can occur after prolonged physical activity, such as running. If you played sports the day before, you should not be surprised by such sensations. However, if there was no physical activity, and the pain recurs with enviable regularity, this is a cause for concern.

Calf pain can be a symptom of a disease such as thrombophlebitis. This is a vascular disease that causes pain in the calves.

Other causes of pain in the calves include atherosclerosis. As the disease progresses, cholesterol deposits are observed, which lead to the appearance of plaques. The patient feels constant pain, which only gets worse when walking.

Another symptom may be cold calves. Among the most common causes of pain are cramps. The catalyst for the occurrence may be banal fatigue and muscle tension.

Why do your heels hurt after waking up?

Often the feet hurt in the morning when stepping due to unpleasant sensations in the heels. If your foot and heel hurt in the morning, there must be a reason. Often the pain is so unbearable that you literally have to walk on tiptoe.

Some time after waking up, pain decreases and long-awaited relief occurs. The cause may be heel spurs, the risk of which is very high if you have flat feet.

The disease can also occur with plantar fasciitis. This disease most often occurs in people whose lifestyle involves heavy load on their legs, long walking, etc.

Why do my toes hurt in the morning?

Pain in the toes in the morning is a fairly rare occurrence. But its occurrence is not recommended to be ignored. As a rule, the causes may be a violation of the blood circulation, as well as diseases such as arthritis and arthrosis.

Other catalysts include chronic injuries that can lead to pain or sudden changes in weather conditions.

If you have diabetes, there is numbness in the feet and toes. If you have flat feet, then pain in your fingers is a direct consequence.

Treatment

Any discomfort in the feet, even if they appear infrequently and pass quickly, requires special treatment or lifestyle changes. When your feet hurt in the morning not due to pathological processes, you can prevent this condition by choosing only comfortable shoes with small heels and using orthopedic insoles or inserts. It is necessary to strengthen muscles and ligaments by performing special exercises. It is also recommended to monitor your weight so that your feet are not subjected to increased stress. Proper nutrition is important, providing the body with all the necessary microelements.

In the evening, after increased stress, it is recommended to make a contrasting foot bath with sea salt or herbal decoctions. Then lie down and raise your legs to an elevated position. Massage also helps prevent morning pain. You can use ointments with warming and relaxing properties for it.

To prevent morning pain, it is recommended to take a relaxing foot bath in the evening after increased stress.

If this condition is associated with chronic diseases, special treatment is necessary. It takes place under the guidance of specialists. Most often this is a traumatologist, orthopedist, surgeon, phlebologist or neurologist. After examining and determining the cause of the pain, the doctor prescribes special therapy. You can get rid of such sensations only when the inflammation is eliminated and blood circulation in the extremities is restored. Treatment of such pathologies must be comprehensive. It is often long lasting or even permanent.

The main therapeutic methods are medication. Most often these are anti-inflammatory, painkillers, drugs to improve blood circulation and metabolic processes, and multivitamins. The use of external agents is also effective. These are ointments and gels with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, warming and relaxing effects.

Additionally, pathologies that cause pain in the feet in the morning can be treated using physiotherapeutic methods. This can be electrophoresis, shock wave therapy, magnetic therapy, paraffin baths. Physical therapy and massage are effective for any pathology. And with increased loads, it is recommended to use orthopedic devices.

At home, you can use traditional methods. They are especially effective for plantar fasciitis. Folk remedies help relieve inflammation and reduce pain.

The most commonly used recipes are:

• a compress of cabbage leaves smeared with honey at night;
• lotion from a mixture of lard, raw egg, vinegar and honey;
• A compress of salt, honey and iodine is effective; you can keep it for no more than 15 minutes;
• Tie a fresh burdock leaf to the sole for the whole day.

Could this be a harbinger of serious illnesses?

Of course, you should not ignore such an unpleasant symptom as pain in the legs in the morning. It is often the first sign of a number of serious and incurable diseases, such as rheumatism or arthritis. In the absence of treatment for such diseases, they continue to develop and become chronic.

It is no longer possible to completely cure such a disease. The patient will suffer from frequent pain, which will interfere with his normal functioning.

There is no need to despair when pain occurs. Perhaps the reason is a simple injury or bad weather.

But in order to prevent the occurrence of disastrous consequences, it is important to consult a doctor. The specialist will conduct a full examination and identify the true cause of the symptoms.

Diagnostics

If pain in the feet after sleep has become permanent and interferes with a full-fledged lifestyle, you should immediately seek medical help. Which doctor should I contact in this case? In case of heel pathologies, you should visit a traumatologist - it is this specialist who helps cure most of the complications associated with the lower part of the foot.

If the pain when stepping is associated with discomfort in the joints, it is better to consult a rheumatologist, as we may be talking about autoimmune diseases. If there are ulcers on the outside of the foot, the help of phlebologists or surgeons will be relevant.

The following diagnostic methods will help determine the exact cause of pain in the feet:

• X-ray studies (x-ray, ultrasound);
• computed and magnetic resonance imaging;
• general and biochemical blood test (sometimes immunological blood test);
• bone puncture;
• tumor markers (if cancer is suspected).

MRI of the foot allows us to identify even minor pathologies of the structure of this area

Carefully! Before visiting the hospital, it is better to refrain from taking medications that can change the picture of the disease, as a result of which an incorrect diagnosis will be made.

Preventing leg pain in the morning

Prevention of leg pain will be useful even if it is not yet observed. Constant stress and a sedentary lifestyle inevitably lead to problems with the musculoskeletal system. If your legs hurt in the morning, there can be many reasons. It is important not to forget about prevention to prevent their occurrence.

Preventive methods include light exercises. Try stretching your legs, feet and toes a little. A light massage will also be helpful. After a hard day at work, a warm foot bath is ideal for relaxation.

If swelling is observed, salt compresses will not be amiss. They will help get rid of swelling and return your legs to their previous condition.

Prevention is always the key to avoiding problems in the future. Pay attention to your health and listen to all the signals your body sends you.

External reasons

The reasons from this group are easy to identify on your own. To do this you need to remember:

• what shoes were worn the day before;
• whether the legs were subjected to intense stress;
• were there any falls, bruises, or sprains?

Let's look at the reasons that cause pain in the feet when walking after sleep in more detail.

Muscle strain

The first workout in the gym or long walking leads to muscle hypertonicity, which persists when a person goes to bed. This symptom will go away without treatment if physical activity continues at the same intensity.

To ease your condition in the morning, it is recommended to massage each foot well before falling asleep after intense physical activity.

Uncomfortable shoes

This reason applies more to women who prefer to wear fashionable high-heeled shoes. Men who wear narrow, tight shoes suffer from it less often. In response to compression of muscles, blood vessels and nerves, the body reacts with pain. As a rule, unpleasant symptoms disappear within a few hours after removing the shoes. However, in some cases, foot pain is still felt the next morning.

If pain occurs only after putting on certain shoes, you should not wear them anymore.

Bruises and sprains

Even if the bruise was not very severe, it will still hurt to step on your foot in the morning. The fact is that in the area of ​​injury, metabolic processes are activated, blood flow increases and swelling forms. During sleep, the muscle fibers are relaxed, and fluid penetrates between them. When getting out of bed, a person may feel pain not only at the site of injury, but also in nearby tissues.

What to do if you are injured:

1. You need to use any pain-relieving ointment, anti-inflammatory gel or balm (“Lioton-gel”, “Rescuer”). If a day has already passed since the injury, it is best to resort to the help of warming agents (“Fastum-gel”).
2. Rest the injured foot.
3. Undergo restorative procedures (electrophoresis, exposure to UV rays, exercise therapy).

When stretched:

1. If very little time has passed since the injury, you need to apply cold to the affected area.
2. To relieve inflammation, it is recommended to “draw” an iodine grid on the foot for several days.
3. Milk compresses help a lot. Gauze soaked in hot milk is applied to the sore spot, covered with film and wrapped with a warm cloth. After cooling, the procedure is repeated.
4. For the first 2–3 days, you need to rest your foot by wrapping the injured foot with an elastic bandage.

USEFUL INFORMATION: Drowsiness during pregnancy: when does it go away, how to deal with sleepiness
For the treatment of serious injuries, it is recommended to consult a traumatologist. Severe pain may result from a fracture.

INTERESTING FACTS!

• By the end of the day the foot is larger than in the morning. Therefore, it is advisable to try on shoes in the afternoon before purchasing.
• Walking is easier than standing. While walking, it is easier for our body to maintain balance.
• There are more than 250 thousand sweat glands on the foot, which are capable of secreting up to 400 ml of fluid daily. Interestingly, the sweat itself does not have an unpleasant odor. The “odor” comes from bacteria living on socks and shoes.

Diagnosis of a pathology in which the middle of the foot hurts when walking

The first specialist to see a person complaining of leg discomfort is a therapist. He examines the limb, probes painful areas, and gives referrals to more specialized specialists.

Visual inspection gives an idea of:

• relief of the foot;
• swelling;
• elasticity of the foot;
• gait specifics;
• range of motion of the joint;
• condition of the skin;
• finger placement.

To see the internal condition of the entire foot, the patient undergoes:

• X-ray;
• arthroscopy;
• tomography;
• Ultrasound;
• makes an imprint of the sole.

The doctor may prescribe urine and blood tests, and a collection of joint fluid.