Nagging pain in the legs: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

What is the reason for spinning your legs?

There are many possible answers to the question of why my legs twist at night.

Osteoarticular pathology

It is one of the first places among the causes of such sensations in the legs. These are diseases such as deforming osteoarthritis, metabolic arthropathy, infectious and inflammatory pathologies of the joints.

Vascular diseases

They include varicose veins and obliterating atherosclerosis of the arteries of the lower extremities. For varicose veins:

• The tone of the venous wall decreases.
• The functioning of the valves in the veins is disrupted.
• The blood stagnates.
• Varicose nodes form.
• Swelling occurs.
• Trophic disorders appear on the skin.

All this contributes to the occurrence of pain, itching, heaviness and cramps in the legs. Atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities is characterized by the formation of cholesterol plaques in the wall of the arteries, which narrow the lumen of the vessel and disrupt the flow of blood to the legs. Oxygen starvation of tissues can manifest itself as painful twisting of the legs at night.

In this case, pain also bothers a person when walking, since with muscle contraction the need for oxygen increases.

Neurological disorders

We are talking about the so-called restless legs syndrome. Repeated studies have shown that chronic insomnia in a quarter of cases is associated with the so-called “restless legs syndrome.” As a rule, unpleasant sensations begin to overcome a person 15–30 minutes after he goes to bed. With the progression of the disease and its severe course, symptoms also occur during the daytime.

Hormonal changes

Women twist their legs before going to bed due to hormonal imbalances during pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause. In the female body of the expectant mother, nutrients and microelements reach the fetus, so their deficiency often occurs.

A lack of magnesium and calcium is especially significant in terms of possible pain and cramps in the legs. Impaired absorption of calcium during menopause also leads to women beginning to suffer from twisting their legs at night.

External influences

Bruises, sprains and other injuries to the lower extremities can cause pain at night.

The reason why he twists his legs at night can only be determined by a specialist.

Respiratory diseases

Colds are often accompanied by increased temperature and increased sweating, which leads to loss of moisture from the body. Fluid deficiency disrupts metabolic processes in tissues, including the calf muscles. This may cause the legs to twist.

Stress

There is a popular expression: “All diseases come from nerves.” A one-time strong experience or chronic stress, accompanied by feelings of anxiety, worry, fear, uncertainty, triggers certain processes in the brain. The brain sends signals to different parts of the body. Therefore, aching legs at night may well be a reflection of a person’s psychological state.

Heart failure

Congestion associated with the inability of the heart to pump blood with the required force leads to edema and insufficient blood supply to peripheral tissues. Hence the appearance of discomfort in the legs.

Kidney pathology

Failure of the processes of excretion of harmful substances in the urine and imbalance of fluids and electrolytes in the body lead to disruption of all metabolic processes. Twisting your legs at night may be one of the symptoms that reflects these problems.

Anemia

A decrease in hemoglobin levels causes a lack of oxygen supply to tissues, as in vascular diseases.

Excessive dieting

When a person deliberately limits himself to consuming certain foods in order to lose weight, the body sooner or later begins to lack the substances it needs. The metabolic disturbances that arise in this case lead to the fact that “figure fighters” have cramps in their legs at night.

Link between leg pain and weather

It’s not just the weather that can influence, but its change:

• drop in atmospheric pressure;
• decrease in temperature;
• increase in air humidity.

People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are most sensitive to such weather changes. This is explained by the fact that, along with damage to the bones and cartilage of the joints, the nerve endings in this area are also affected. In this case, they become more sensitive to humidity and cold. A humid atmosphere leads to swelling, and a decrease in temperature induces pain.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the causes of twisting and aching pain in the legs

Changes in atmospheric pressure also cause changes in pressure in the intra-articular cavities, which causes aching, “gnawing” pain. As soon as the weather conditions return to normal, the pain in the joints recedes.

More often, elderly people become weather-sensitive, as they experience age-related degenerative-dystrophic changes in the joints and spine. Weather sensitivity in young people can be caused by trauma to the musculoskeletal system.

How to survive weather changes?

During cold weather, people with articular pathology should refrain from visiting the sauna, bathhouse, and it is also better not to take a hot bath. High humidity in these rooms can increase swelling. In cold weather, it is better to give preference to an infrared or dry sauna.

Types of arthrosis development

For treatment of arthrosis of the foot joints to be successful, it is necessary to make a correct diagnosis. Each stage of disease development requires a different set of therapeutic measures. Doctors distinguish the following stages of pathology development:

1. First. At this stage, noticeable fatigue of the lower extremities appears, as well as “pulling” pain after long walks or excessive physical exertion. At this stage, the patient may not even suspect that he is developing a disease, because he attributes the symptoms to banal fatigue. But if you do not visit a doctor, the disease will begin to gain momentum;
2. Second. All the symptoms of the first stage begin to appear more actively. The pain becomes longer and more severe. Calluses may appear on the heels due to improper foot position, the knuckles become thicker;
3. Third. The joints undergo serious changes, so the person begins to limp severely. Joint mobility decreases. X-rays show that the gaps between the joints are significantly reduced or disappear completely.

To make a diagnosis, the doctor must conduct an examination and diagnosis. It includes:

• taking an anamnesis, when the doctor asks the patient about all his complaints;
• X-rays and other examinations that will make it possible to accurately determine the condition of the joints, cartilage and bones, and also identify possible changes in their structure;
• examinations that will allow you to study the condition of muscle tissue;
• tests to find out about the state of the body and the nature of inflammation in it;
• measuring the size of the foot so that you can track the dynamics of treatment for arthrosis of the toe or any other joint.

If you twist your legs during pregnancy

Often this symptom first makes itself felt during pregnancy. Unpleasant sensations in the legs are more typical in the second and third trimesters. At these times, women’s legs twist almost every night, although it all started only as a reaction to a change in weather.

In some pregnant women, this symptom may appear already in the first trimester. As a rule, after childbirth, all problems with the legs go away. The most common causes are the following conditions.

Anemia

This phenomenon often accompanies pregnancy. Occurs due to iron deficiency. A drop in hemoglobin levels causes tissue depletion of oxygen, which leads to twisted legs.

Restructuring of the hormonal system inherent in pregnancy

An increase in estrogen levels may be the cause of the symptom in question. Compression of the veins by the enlarged uterus and a woman’s weight gain during pregnancy cause venous insufficiency, one of the symptoms of which is pain, cramps, and twisting in the legs towards the end of the day and at night.

Pregnant women are characterized by the development of varicose veins, which provokes a feeling of twisting in the legs

Clinical manifestations

Once it occurs, the pain syndrome provoked by metastases is moderate in nature. It intensifies after physical activity or at night.

As the tumor process develops, the symptoms also intensify. The pain syndrome becomes pronounced and painful.

There are other “signals” indicating the presence of bone metastases:

• Spinal cord compression. It happens quite rarely, but it makes life quite difficult. The thoracic spine or the lumbar and cervical sections are subject to compression.
• Hypercalcemia. The level of calcium in the blood increases, which ultimately leads to a malfunction of many body systems. The complication is very common.
• Pathological fractures. The femur in the area of ​​the diaphysis or neck often suffers.

Patients with late stages of cancer also exhibit symptoms such as:

• Temperature increase;
• Exhaustion;
• Weakness, etc.

What to do if you have discomfort

It is not the symptom that needs to be treated, but the disease that is its cause. For example, if your legs twist at night due to iron deficiency anemia, then the patient is prescribed iron supplements in the form of tablets or injections. It is possible to use sedatives, cardiovascular, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Drug therapy for any disease must be prescribed and adjusted by a doctor.

Non-drug methods

There are other ways to “soothe your feet” without using drugs. These could be the following activities:

Heel pain in the morning

• Lifestyle changes. It involves following a daily routine and allocating enough time for night sleep. A walk in the fresh air a few hours before bedtime has a beneficial effect on the body. It is advisable to spend the evening in a calm, cozy environment - the body should prepare for sleep.
• Exercises. Walking in the fresh air at an average pace, squats, stretching exercises, bending and straightening the legs at the joints - this is a list of physical activities that can significantly alleviate the condition. A short set of exercises can be performed shortly before bedtime. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise the effect will be the opposite.
• Massage. It should be light, gentle, like stroking and pinching. Rough kneading of the legs is unacceptable in this case.
• Warm bath. The effects of warm water are best combined with the calming effect of medicinal plants. This can be achieved by adding chamomile decoction to the water.
• Physiotherapy. May include magnetic therapy, lymphopress, and mud therapy procedures.
• Cold and hot shower. This procedure, like those listed above, can be performed only in the absence of contraindications.
• Revision of nutrition. Insomnia and excessive activity in the legs can be caused by eating a heavy meal before bed. In addition to problems with legs and digestion, this also threatens excess weight. Nutrition must be balanced to provide the body with the necessary vitamins and microelements. It is necessary to abandon “harmful” products.
• Rejection of bad habits. You should stop not only from smoking and alcohol, but also from consuming caffeine-containing foods and drinks before bed. These include coffee, tea, chocolate, Coca-Cola. Stimulation of the nervous system by these dietary components may aggravate the symptoms of the disease, which causes leg twisting.

Using medicinal plants will also help. It is possible to use homemade cream made from aloe. To do this, the leaves of the plant need to be crushed in a meat grinder and the resulting pulp should be rubbed onto the drumsticks. A cabbage leaf that can be applied to your feet also has a good distracting effect. After this, you need to put on warm socks.

Use of salt. The method involves preparing a saline solution that is used to wet the socks. This simple procedure in some cases helps relieve discomfort in the legs. Of course, you don’t need to try to try all the proposed methods on yourself. You need to use several of the most effective means of combating leg discomfort.

How to help a pregnant woman solve the problem of leg pain?

In case of anemia, the administration of iron supplements can compensate for the disorders. Correction of nutritional deficiencies by prescribing special vitamin and mineral complexes for pregnant women. The consumption of caffeine-containing drinks during pregnancy should be reduced to a minimum. If a woman drinks 5 or more cups of coffee a day, this can harm the baby.

You can eliminate discomfort in the legs using folk remedies

The problem of venous stagnation can be solved by using compression hosiery (socks, tights). In addition, a pregnant woman needs to rest more often, and her legs need to be given an elevated position. Even 10 minutes of rest can significantly relieve discomfort.

Walking before bed helps a lot. To do this, you don’t have to go outside, you can just calmly walk around the room. The following recommendations also help a lot:

• Performing simple exercises (swinging limbs).
• Cooling procedures - rubbing the shins with ice.
• Warming procedures - warm pillow.
• Bandaging the lower extremities with an elastic bandage.
• Avoidance of sleeping pills and other toxic medications.
• Refusal of drinking alcoholic beverages.

Primary tumors

Primary occurrence of bone cancer is rare. Among such diseases are sarcomas. The primary lesion can be caused by active growth of bone tissue, this occurs in people under the age of twenty.

Symptoms of the primary disease:

• Pain in the focal area. At first, the pain syndrome is mild or moderate. He may disappear, but then appears again. At later stages it is constant and pronounced.
• General symptoms that are characteristic of any cancer disease, for example, weight loss, weakness, etc.
• Manifestations characteristic of bone damage - lameness, pathological fractures, etc.

Primary and secondary diseases are united by a number of manifestations, which is why in making a diagnosis you should not rely only on the patient’s complaints. Diagnostics required.

If a child suffers from leg problems

“Growing pains” is the name given to such sensations in children. All children grow, but not all experience pain. In some children, the manifestations are so minor that the child does not attach any importance to them. There is no clear opinion regarding the mechanism of development of these pains.

The most plausible judgment is that the child’s bones and muscles grow unevenly. That is, sometimes muscle growth lags behind the intensive growth of bones, which leads to overstretching of the muscular, ligamentous and tendon apparatus, and joint stiffness. This causes discomfort or pain in the legs.

The localization of pain may vary. Most often these are the lower legs and the front surface of the thigh. Typical is the occurrence of pain in one joint, then in another. Children aged 4 to 9 years are more susceptible to growing pains. Although sometimes such pain occurs in three-year-old children.

The occurrence of pain at night and specifically in the legs is due to the fact that the peak of physical activity occurs during the daytime: children run, jump, and play. The main load falls on the lower limbs. Growing pain is very similar to pain that occurs after a strenuous workout. Muscle relaxation at night causes discomfort.

Children may not only have age-related pain associated with growth, but also cramps in the calf muscles. It is necessary to clearly differentiate these two problems. Growing pains are not accompanied by muscle spasms. They do not have any frequency of occurrence: a child can be happy and healthy today, but the next day he cries at night and complains of pain in his leg, and the next day he forgets about the pain again.

These sensations can be repeated for several nights in a row, and then disappear for a long time. Then the rapid growth of skeletal bones stops, and the pain in the child’s legs disappears completely.

Unpleasant sensations in the legs at night can appear not only in adults, but also in children

Classification of foot diseases and types of arthrosis

There are dozens of small joints in the foot. The problem can start in any of them. In modern medicine, there are different types of arthrosis of the foot, which are distinguished by its location. The disease can develop in:

• subtalar ligament;
• cuboid-calcaneal joint;
• metatarsophalangeal joint;
• arthrosis of the toe.

Arthrosis of the foot is also divided by degree. There are the following types:

• Primary.

  May occur due to pathology in the foot or after injury or damage;

• Secondary.

  Arthrosis of the foot of this degree appears due to diseases that affect the lower extremities. This could be hormonal disorders or any other;

• Polyarthrosis.

  This is a complex degree of arthrosis of the foot. The disease affects not one, but several or more joints at once.

Treatment is prescribed depending on what type of arthrosis affects the foot.