Leg pain: how to understand when the problem is serious

Leg pain: how to recognize if it is a serious pathology based on the symptoms and intensity of pain.

Leg pains occur very often at the end of the day and are accompanied by a feeling of swelling. After too much time spent standing or sitting there is an accumulation of fluids and therefore poor circulation, resulting in swollen legs and ankles.

In other more serious cases, however, leg pain is chronic and is associated with swelling and heaviness . In this case it is advisable to consult your doctor to see if it is serious circulation problems or some type of inflammation . Let’s see, therefore, what are the symptoms, causes and situations in which pain is attributable to a serious problem.

Leg pain: causes and symptoms

It goes without saying that muscle pain is the most frequent symptom for this disorder, but not only: often this is accompanied or preceded by swelling and / or heaviness. These unpleasant sensations, if they become unsustainable, are to be treated with the help of a specialist doctor , who will make an accurate diagnosis to establish their causes during the visit. These can be different depending on the problem and where the pain is present. In general, the causes may be following a trauma or coming from other pathologies that will have to be investigated by specialist medical examinations.

The first diagnosis made by the doctor takes into account these factors : if the pain is accompanied by other symptoms (swelling, heaviness, heat, or if it is accompanied by other symptoms such as back pain); the position where it hurts (pain in the legs from the knee down, or the opposite, joint pain at the height of the knee); and if they were sudden or had been present for some time. Or they could also be cramps .

Muscle pain in the legs: when is it severe?

When you experience pain in a single limb with a swollen , hot leg and a soft- edema it could be thrombosis . You will immediately understand that it is appropriate to seek medical attention because the pain is rather intense and the appearance of your leg will be different than usual.

If, however, the pain is localized in the knee or in the hip, it could be arthritis . Usually it manifests itself suddenly with a stiffness of the affected joint. The only temporary way to solve the problem is to move. With an X-ray you can check whether it is arthritis or not.

In the case of sciatica , however, there is intense pain that starts from the lower back area and extends to the back of the thigh. In severe cases it reaches up to the lateral leg and the foot. It is, therefore, an inflammation of the sciatic nerve that can be caused by a herniated disc or vertebral arthrosis. The first pain you feel is a twinge that can be mild to constant and similar to an electric shock . In more acute cases, a stinging and excruciating pain is felt as soon as a wrong movement is made. As a result, you may experience a tingling sensation in the foot or even difficulty controlling leg movements.

Leg pains at night

During the night you may experience an unpleasant sensation in the legs and an uncontrollable need to move them while resting. It is a disorder known as restless leg syndrome . Usually it occurs while you are trying to fall asleep and sometimes you need to get out of bed and walk around a bit to get some relief.

It is, however, a neurological pathology that can be resolved with the right nutrition and possibly supplements and indications of the attending physician.