Cramps, muscle tension, bone fractures, venous thromboembolism, and chronic venous insufficiency often cause pain in the legs, feet, and thighs.
Pain in the lower leg (shin, calf) often feels like stabbing or burning, possibly due to muscle cramps. Sometimes, lower leg pain is a sign of a heart or nervous system problem. Below are common causes of calf pain.
Muscle cramps
The calf muscles are an area that frequently cramps, which can be mild and feel like a small twitch but are sometimes very strong and cause severe pain. Calf cramps usually last from a few seconds to a few minutes. Rarely, post-cramp muscle pain lasts for many days.
Factors that cause leg muscle cramps such as fatigue, dehydration, mild changes in electrolytes in the body such as calcium, potassium, magnesium; exercise at very high temperatures. Liver disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, neurological or vascular disorders, and pregnancy can also be causes.
Muscle tension
Muscle strains are a common cause of foot pain. Muscle tears often occur because the muscle is overstretched. Calf muscles are an area that is often strained and torn.
The disease often causes mild pain, cramps or a burning sensation if torn, swollen and bruised. The cause may be due to injury or sudden change in foot direction while playing tennis or basketball. Ways to reduce muscle tension include rest, ice, pain relievers, and physical therapy.
Excessive exercise can cause calf pain. Image: May Cat
Tendonitis
This is an inflammation of the tendon sheath that occurs in the calf or heel, causing increasing pain with movement, swelling, and sometimes stiffness.
A sudden decrease or increase in the intensity and frequency of physical activity can cause small tears in the tendons. Factors that increase the risk of tendinitis include abnormalities in foot structure including flat feet or high arches, leg length; Overactive leg muscles, wearing inappropriate footwear, exercising in cold weather.
Stress fractures
Stress fractures are small breaks (cracks, cracks) in bones that can affect any bone but are common in the lower leg. The typical symptom is local throbbing pain that gradually subsides with rest.
This is because the muscles around the bones get tired from overuse, and over time they transfer pressure to the bones, leading to small cracks or cracks.
Playing sports that put repetitive stress on the legs such as running, jumping, gymnastics, basketball and tennis increases the risk of stress fractures. The main treatment method is 6-8 weeks of rest, ice, and pain relievers.
Deep vein thrombosis
This is a blood clot in a vein in the lower leg that causes severe leg pain and can travel to the lungs causing a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. In addition to calf pain, other symptoms in the lower leg include swelling, burning, and redness.
Deep vein blood clots occur due to damage to the vein wall due to trauma or surgery, a medical condition that makes blood more likely to clot, such as cancer or pregnancy. Treatment is usually with anticoagulants or blood thinners.
Chronic venous insufficiency
Veins in the legs are vessels that carry blood back to the heart. Valves inside the veins help regulate blood flow and control pressure. If the valves don’t work properly, blood can flow back into the veins and accumulate in the legs. Over time, this leads to increased venous pressure called chronic venous insufficiency.
Trauma and blood clots can lead to chronic venous insufficiency. Standing too long, obesity and pregnancy can put extra weight and pressure on the veins in the legs, damaging the valves leading to this disease.
Symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency include pain or cramps in the legs, swelling of the legs and ankles; itchy, dry, hardened skin; patches of skin that are purple, dark red, or brown; Non-healing wounds (venous ulcers) appear along the ankles.
Peripheral artery disease
Peripheral artery disease is a condition in which one or more arteries in the legs narrow, blocking blood flow to the legs. The disease causes cramp-like pain in the calves, thighs or buttocks that is worse with activity; cold, pale body; Non-healing foot wounds, changes in toenails, shiny skin, hair loss near the affected foot area.
Narrowing of the arteries occurs due to the buildup of fatty substances in the artery walls (atherosclerosis). Smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, age 70 or older, physical inactivity, and coronary artery disease increase the risk of this disease.
Peripheral neuropathy
The disease occurs when the nerves in the limbs are damaged, reducing sensation in the limbs, often affecting the toes before progressing to the feet and legs. Peripheral neuropathy can be caused by diabetes, chronic alcohol use, vitamin deficiency, and systemic inflammatory diseases.
Controlling alcohol consumption, diabetes, and nutrition helps prevent peripheral neuropathy from getting worse.
Lumbosacral radiculopathy
Lumbar radiculopathy, also known as sciatica, is caused by compression or irritation of one or more nerves that travel from the lower spine to the legs. The disease causes severe pain in the lower back, buttocks, and radiates to the legs; numbness, tingling, burning, weakness in the legs.
The cause may be due to spinal disc herniation or irritation by muscle tension or spinal stenosis, leading to nerve compression in the lower spine. Infection or tumor may be the cause but is rare. Treatment of sciatica usually uses pain relievers, muscle relaxants, physical therapy, and surgery.