In a healthy person, pain in the calves can appear in two cases:
Next, we will consider pain in the calves associated with pathological changes in the body.
In both cases, the patient feels severe pain in the calf muscles in the form of “hammer blows.”
Cramps in the leg muscles (video)
Arterial atherosclerosis . The walls of blood vessels thicken and narrow at the same time. Blood has difficulty making its way through the veins. Pain in the calves is pulsating in nature. The patient's feet are cold at any time of the year.
The presence of parasites in the calf muscles - trichinosis . The nematode worm lays larvae in human muscles, and in particular in the calves. Transmitted through food. After an incubation period of 1 to 3 days, a person begins to feel muscle pain in the feet, then in the lower legs, calves and thighs, followed by spreading throughout the muscles of the whole body.
Pain in the child’s calf muscles is mainly associated with the characteristics of his growth. From the first days of life until puberty, intensive growth occurs. Metabolism occurs at breakneck speed.
There are a number of diseases that influence the occurrence of muscle pain in childhood:
Pain in the calf muscle can take you by surprise. Most often these are convulsions. You can relieve pain by placing your feet on a cold floor and vigorously rubbing your calves.
If your child has pain in the calves, you need to take him to a doctor, to whom you can tell about your recent observations: how the baby sleeps, eats, what he complains about, at what time the pain appears. The specialist will examine the little patient and prescribe an examination, based on the results of which he will make a diagnosis.
In case of injuries, sprains and bruises, you must immediately contact a traumatologist, who will perform a visual examination and refer you to an X-ray of the lower extremities to determine the severity of the injury.
Due to the variety of conditions associated with calf pain, diagnosis can be complicated. You may be asked to go to a hospital to undergo a comprehensive examination and take additional tests.
Any pain in the legs brings discomfort into our lives. Many people attribute the syndrome to ordinary fatigue and get used to this condition. Remember that even the most harmless pain can be a harbinger of serious illnesses. Do not endure pain, seek help from doctors.
There is no such person who, at least once in his life, has not been bothered by pain in the muscles of his legs or calves. In itself, this is not an alarming symptom and does not require treatment, but at the same time, dynamic or periodic pain in the leg muscles can be a manifestation of dangerous diseases that require medical attention.
The most harmless cause of pain in the leg muscles and calves is considered to be physical overexertion and excess weight. As a rule, when these factors are eliminated, the condition improves and the pain stops. Venous stagnation is one of the vascular disorders accompanied by pain. Develops as a result of a passive, “sedentary” lifestyle.
Often the cause of pain in the leg muscles is atherosclerosis or thrombophlebitis. This is a serious pathology that requires urgent treatment due to the possibility of complications. Lower leg injuries, bruises, sprains, ruptures, fractures - all this is accompanied by pain of varying severity. Pathological conditions of the spine and neurological disorders cause pain in the leg muscles of a reflective or radiating nature.
Hypothermia or infectious diseases may be accompanied by painful sensations in the muscles of the legs and calves.
A sedentary lifestyle due to professional characteristics, or for some other reasons, leads to stagnation of blood in the vessels, blood flow in the veins and arteries is disrupted and, as a result, an insufficient amount of oxygen enters the tissues and toxins accumulate. The clinic is characterized by aching, dull or stabbing pain; You may feel heaviness in your legs.
Foot deformity due to flat feet also causes pain. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult for the patient to move, his legs feel as if they are filled with lead, the pain covers the foot and rises to the knee.
Most often, the cause of pain in the leg muscles and calves is vascular disorders of various origins. Due to a violation of the outflow of blood, pressure on the vessels increases, the nerve endings become irritated and respond with the appearance of a dull or nagging pain, a feeling of heaviness. A complication of venous stagnation is varicose veins - the veins dilate, lose elasticity and resemble nodular protrusions in appearance.
Thrombophlebitis is also accompanied by pain. The pain is pronounced, pulsating, and a burning sensation appears under the skin along the veins. If left untreated, there can be serious consequences, including gangrene of the limb.
Compressive pain in the calf, aggravated by walking, is a symptom of atherosclerotic disease, in which the lumen of the artery narrows due to thickening of the walls and the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques. There is a constant feeling of cold in the foot area, regardless of weather conditions and time of year.
Pain of a reflective or radiating nature usually accompanies diseases of the lower spine and neurological diseases (sciatica, neuritis, myositis). Patients note lumbago in the muscles of the legs, but pain in the spine may not appear. Neurology is characterized by periodic pain in the form of attacks of varying length. In the intervals, as a rule, no pain is observed.
Against the background of infectious processes, traumatic situations, hypothermia, myositis often develops, which is accompanied by severe pain. This is a very serious disease that requires careful and timely treatment. As a result of inflammation of the nerve fibers, the pain is pronounced and sometimes becomes unbearable. As a rule, there is limited movement of the lower limb.
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The cause of pain in the leg muscles and calves is determined based on the clinical picture and medical history. Particular attention is paid to the presence of vascular, neurological and infectious diseases. The patient’s complaints, the severity and nature of the pain syndrome help to clarify the diagnosis. Based on the data from the survey and examination, additional examination methods are prescribed.
Self-medication is strictly contraindicated. Treatment is prescribed after determining the cause of pain in the leg muscles and calves. Emergency surgical care may be necessary for arterial insufficiency, or conservative inpatient treatment for venous thrombosis. Some spinal diseases that contribute to pain in the leg muscles are also subject to surgical intervention.
Palliative treatment can significantly reduce pain.
There are also methods that are common to all, helping to get rid of or reduce pain in the muscles of the legs and calves - this is a diet for overweight people, eliminating excessive physical activity, eating well and regular walks, giving up alcohol and smoking.
Many people are familiar with pain in the calves from their own experience. Painful sensations can be permanent , bringing a lot of inconvenience and turning every step into agony.
To overcome the disease, you need to know why your calves hurt and understand the root cause.
High-intensity physical activity often causes pain in the calves. A nagging pain in the calves, accompanied by cramps, indicates fatigue of the lower leg muscles. In this case, it is necessary, if necessary, to reduce the load and apply massage of the lower extremities.
A common cause of aching pain in the calf is simple dehydration. This once again shows how important it is to drink enough fluids. The recommended daily fluid intake for an adult varies from 2 to 3 liters, depending on weight and intensity of physical activity.
You just have to remember that during pregnancy the opposite situation occurs. Very often, pregnant women experience heaviness and pain in their legs due to swelling. In this case, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of drinks, but this should be done within reasonable limits, because the fetus also needs liquid. In this case, it is better to agree on a reasonable norm with the doctor.
Another cause of leg pain is previous injuries . As a rule, past fractures of the tibia often make themselves felt, and aching pain can bother you both day and night. Often the disease is caused by improper fusion of the limb (with displacement). However, less serious injuries also lead to painful symptoms.
Pain in one leg often indicates the presence of an injury, but not always. If it bothers you in the calf of the right leg or only the left, then this may be a sign of circulatory problems or a neurological disease. Pain in both legs indicates significant disturbances in the overall functioning of the body or ordinary fatigue.
Inflammation of the calf muscle is the result of prolonged intense stress or microtrauma. This also includes an Achilles tendon injury. There are also professional reasons when the legs are in an uncomfortable position for a long time during work. Signs of myositis include the formation of inflammatory nodules in the muscle tissue; increased pain is observed on palpation. The patient's pain varies:
To get rid of such an ailment, it is necessary to reduce physical activity, and if there is an injury, give the limbs rest until complete recovery. To alleviate the patient's condition, various ointments are used:
The cause of damage to the lower leg muscles can be a parasitic infection of the muscles (trichinosis). The pathogen enters the body when eating meat that has not undergone sufficient heat treatment. A complex of antibiotics is used to treat this disease.
A neurologist is responsible for making a diagnosis of muscle disease and is responsible for treatment. If the illness appears in connection with trichinosis, then it will be treated by an infectious disease doctor.
No one will be surprised by the pain in your calves after a long bike ride, an evening fashion show in high-heeled shoes, or a fun night of dancing. Legs that are not used to such physical activity will definitely start to hurt in the morning.
However, painful sensations sometimes arise, at first glance, for no reason and suddenly, disturbing for a long time, interfering with the normal rhythm of life. For what reason do women's calves hurt, what causes such an unpleasant symptom and how to cope with it, we will tell you in our article.
Pain in the calves is a signal from the body to a malfunction in the functioning of any organs or systems. Moreover, the reason for their appearance may have a distant relationship with the muscles and tissues of the legs themselves.
That is why even the most qualified and experienced doctor will not be able to accurately determine the disease only by symptoms. To do this, he will need a detailed examination.
What was the factor in the occurrence of the pain symptom: unusually high physical activity or an injury that went unnoticed, malfunction of the vascular system or even cancer - the nature of the pain and additional research will tell.
Based on the different symptoms of pain, the diseases that cause it are divided into several groups.
Women's calves also hurt due to poor lifestyle choices. Thus, excessive weight when walking increases the load on the legs, and a sedentary lifestyle leads to poor blood circulation. These factors cause a lack of oxygen in the muscles, resulting in cramps and swelling.
Addiction to tobacco and alcohol also contributes to poor oxygen saturation of the blood, which causes a chain reaction of muscle pain.
We have already said that there are a lot of reasons why the calf hurts on the leg and we have listed some of them. However, it is equally important to know their characteristics, as well as how the mechanisms that cause pain in the limbs manifest themselves.
Please note that symptoms will differ for different diseases. In this case, additional symptoms may appear, which affects the general well-being of the person.
For example, women who are expecting a child have leg pain due to swelling or a lack of important microelements due to an unbalanced diet. In addition, the fetus, which grows quickly, puts pressure on the organs and tissues of the pregnant woman, which significantly impairs blood flow. In this case, special gymnastics for pregnant women, proper nutrition, and reasonable physical activity are indicated.
In men and women, pain syndromes often occur after injury. So, if pain is felt in only one leg, this indicates an injury. In addition, pain or swelling in only the right or left leg can be clear signs of neurological diseases or a violation of systemic blood flow.
If both legs hurt, this is a signal of serious health problems or evidence of ordinary fatigue.
Regardless of the nature of the pain and its manifestations, you need to find out the reason why it appeared.
Let's consider the main manifestations of pain in various diseases.
This disease manifests itself as inflammation of the calf muscles and is a consequence of intense exercise, injury or flu.
When palpating the muscles, nodules are felt, with strong pressure on which the pain intensifies.
At the very beginning of the disease, the pain is aching and manifests itself only with movements or pressure on the nodules. With the development of pathology, it intensifies, is felt even at rest and takes on a different character: it can be shooting or sharp.
If the disease is the result of an injury, it may be accompanied by an infection. In this case, there is a discharge of pus, an increase in temperature, and general intoxication occurs.
Myositis should be treated by reducing physical activity or (in case of injury) complete rest.
To alleviate the patient's condition, use topical ointments:
In case of fever, medications are prescribed to reduce the temperature, and in case of purulent complications, antibiotics are prescribed.
Varicose veins are most often a hereditary disease that begins to manifest itself after the age of 20. The symptoms in the form of veins protruding on the legs are so obvious that making a diagnosis does not cause difficulties.
If at the beginning of the development of the disease, it brings the patient only aesthetic discomfort, then as it develops it causes serious ailments:
All of these symptoms are caused by swelling, which compresses the nerve endings and leads to a general disruption of blood flow, as well as the release of toxins. As a result, inflammation appears.
If treatment is carried out untimely or incorrectly, the disease develops into deep vein thrombosis. This condition is dangerous because blood clots, called thrombi, form in the vein. These clots can break away from the vein walls and enter the general bloodstream, leading to a pulmonary infarction or death of the patient.
A person constantly feels unwell, which manifests itself in the following symptoms:
The following drugs are used for therapeutic treatment:
In advanced stages of the disease, surgical intervention will be required, because trophic ulcers appear in the affected areas, which are very difficult to cure.
Considering the life-threatening nature of this disease, at the first symptoms of venous thrombosis you should seek medical help.
During treatment, you must observe strict bed rest, since any physical activity will lead to a blood clot breaking.
These dangerous conditions are caused by a blood clot that completely blocks the circulation of blood in the arteries. Painkillers are prescribed for pain caused by this disease, since a person cannot tolerate them for a long time.
The patient feels a strong internal burning sensation, while the feet and calves are very cold, and there is a complete or partial loss of their sensitivity.
Without proper treatment, the disease leads to gangrene.
Diseases associated with neurology are also the culprits of long-term nagging pain in the legs. They arise due to tissue inflammation.
There are many causes of the disease, but they are all a consequence of intoxication of the body or impaired metabolism.
Treatment is prescribed based on the reasons that caused the pain. But under any circumstances, analgesic drugs are used.
Legs may hurt due to inflammation or injury to the joint. At first, the pain is minor and intermittent. However, as the disease progresses, the pain intensifies under any load. Then the joint becomes deformed and is in a “stony” state: the person is unable to move independently.
Treatment consists of using agents that suppress inflammation and pain.
Spinal diseases are another source of pain syndromes in the calves. The pain is so strong that a person always feels it.
Diabetes mellitus, based on improper metabolism, provokes poor arterial blood permeability, as well as inflammation of the fiber that is located under the skin. They become the reason why the calves hurt.
At the same time, diabetes mellitus causes thrush and difficult-to-treat vaginal infections in women, and decreased erection and pain in the groin area in men.
Lack of vitamins and microelements
If the legs of an expectant mother or a woman who adheres to a strict diet hurt, then most likely the cause of the pain syndrome is a lack of necessary microelements in the body. Therefore, the best medicine in this case is a balanced diet, as well as taking special vitamin complexes.
If pain in the calves is not caused by one-time physical activity, but becomes a constant companion, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. The sooner the cause of the disease is identified, the more successful its treatment will be.
You should not diagnose yourself and prescribe treatment: this will only make the situation worse.
Doctors have developed several recommendations that should be used by anyone who has experienced leg pain to alleviate symptoms or prevent the development of the disease:
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This is such a common phenomenon or sensation - pain in the calf muscles. that every person suffers from it at least once in their life.
There are too many reasons for the occurrence of these painful sensations.
The slightest damage or irritation of the calf muscle - excessive strain or a bad step - causes pain in the calves. At the same time, pain in the calf muscles can be very sudden and occur as a reaction to unusual physical activity - simply while walking, including.
Quite often, doctors associate the first manifestations of painful sensations with vascular disease. This can be caused by an increase in pressure in the vessels due to disturbances in the outflow of venous blood - stagnation occurs, due to which the nerve endings are irritated and then inflamed, causing pain. When the reason is this, the calves of the legs hurt in a special way - it seems that the legs are “heavy”, there is a feeling of “dull” pain. And this symptom is characteristic of varicose veins.
The same sensations of “dull” pain, aching or even stabbing, as well as sharp cramps and “heaviness” of the legs can be considered as a result of sedentary work. After all, when a person stands or sits for a long time, normal blood circulation in the veins and arteries is disrupted. And blood stagnation is accompanied by oxygen starvation, accumulation of harmful substances - toxins - in the vessels and muscles.
— Thrombophlebitis, a vascular disease that is quite common, unfortunately, is accompanied by throbbing pain in the calf muscles. Moreover, the painful sensations change over time: the pain becomes similar to a burning sensation. With thrombophlebitis, the calves of the legs hurt constantly.
- Atherosclerosis is another cause of unpleasant painful sensations. With this disease, the walls of blood vessels thicken and a feeling of muscle “squeezing” occurs, which causes pain in the calves. Pain syndrome in atherosclerosis is characteristic specifically of the lower leg muscles. The pain gets worse when walking. Another symptom of atherosclerosis is that, regardless of the air and body temperature, the feet seem cold.
— Spinal diseases are another group of diseases that provoke pain in the calves. If there are disturbances in the spine itself—displaced discs, for example—radiating pains appear, that is, those that “radiate” to the legs. At the same time, the spine itself does not hurt. An example can be given of sciatica - inflammation of the sciatic nerve.
— Another factor in the appearance of pain in the calves may be diseases of the peripheral nerves. Neuralgia pain is not constant, it is characterized by attacks, the duration of which is short - a few minutes or even seconds.
- Myositis - inflammation of the skeletal and calf muscles - causes the most severe pain in the leg muscles. This disease is extremely serious and requires mandatory and long-term treatment under strict medical supervision. Most often, myositis occurs as a complication after a certain number of diseases, including influenza. Sometimes myositis can be caused by muscle strain, unusually heavy workload, or injury to the calf muscle.
With this disease, aching pain in the calves intensifies with the slightest movement, and cords or dense nodules can be felt in the muscles themselves. If the injury is open, then, as a consequence of its infection, purulent myositis may occur - with a characteristic increase in body temperature, increased pain, chills, redness of the skin over the tense and thickened muscle.
One of the types of myositis is parasitic myositis, which occurs as a result of muscle damage by cysticerci, trichinella (trichinosis), and toxoplasma parasites. Parasitic myositis is characterized by fever, pain in the muscles of the limbs, masticatory muscles, muscles of the tongue and chest.
— Another disease is osteomyelitis. infectious disease of bone tissue. Osteomyelitis is accompanied by acute and prolonged pain, the cause of which is the bone itself.
— A common cause of pain in the calves can be cramps - involuntary contractions of muscle groups or individual muscles. Cramps can result from prolonged tension and overwork of the calf muscle. To stop this unpleasant painful sensation, sometimes it is enough to simply relax the muscles. That is, lie down or sit down, change the position of your legs and rub the cramped muscle harder, apply a cold compress or stand on the cold ground with your bare feet.
- Fibromyalgia is pain that occurs in the back of the head, in the lower back (lumbago), as well as in the neck, shoulder joints, chest and near the knee joint - in the hip area. This pain is more familiar to women, as it occurs more often among them. Fibromyalgia intensifies with mental and physical overload, sleep disturbances, and staying in a damp or cold room for a long time. These pains can become systemic when rheumatic diseases occur.
— Neurogenic myopathy or idiopathic inflammatory myopathies can also cause pain in the calf muscles.
If a person does not have neurological abnormalities, then painful muscle syndrome is caused by inflammatory or metabolic myopathies. Myopathies are of three types, according to the international classification:
95% of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are polymyositis, myositis, dermatomyositis, which arise as a consequence of systemic connective tissue diseases. As well as myositis with intracellular inclusions and paraneoplastic myositis. In all these cases, consultation with a rheumatologist is necessary to prevent or identify a systemic disease, which resulted in pain in the calves.
This type of myopathy, such as drug-induced, is most often associated with taking fibrates and statins.
The main thing to remember is that if you experience pain in your leg muscles, you should consult your doctor. Necessarily. This could be a phlebologist or neurologist, infectious diseases specialist, traumatologist or angiosurgeon. But consultation is mandatory if we are concerned about our health.
How often, when we come home and take off our shoes, we complain to our loved ones that our feet “hurt, buzz and fall off”! Most often, discomfort and pain in the legs occur precisely because of increased physical stress - because of fatigue, in other words. And this is quite understandable - it is on our legs that the entire main load falls. What if a person is overweight? It's even harder on the legs.
However, unfortunately, fatigue is not always the only reason leading to the development of pain in the legs. Sometimes the reasons for their occurrence are much more serious and are directly related to the presence of certain diseases in a person.
It is these diseases that will be discussed in this article. After all, if a person knows what can cause pain in the legs, he has the opportunity to notice this or that problem in time, and not let it go by itself, but in time to seek medical help from a doctor who will conduct an examination, clarify the diagnosis and prescribe the necessary treatment, which will bring relief to a sick person.
Doctors include such diseases as:
If a person has pain in the calves, as well as frequent cramps, especially often occurring either when walking up the stairs or at night, it can be assumed that the person has atherosclerosis of blood vessels and arteries. In addition, another additional sign of atherosclerosis of blood vessels and arteries is constantly cold feet, regardless of the time of year and ambient temperature. In addition, in men, hair on the toes stops growing, and certain problems with sexual function may be observed.
In no case should this problem be ignored, since the lack of necessary treatment often leads to the development of quite serious complications, for example, a cerebral stroke. If the symptoms described above appear, a sick person should seek medical help from a physician or vascular surgeon as soon as possible. The doctor will prescribe the necessary examination for the sick person: magnetic resonance contrast angiography, ultrasound examination.
And based on the data received, the doctor will clarify the diagnosis and also prescribe the treatment that will bring relief to the person’s condition. Smokers should pay special attention to this problem. Nicotine greatly aggravates the course of the disease, and gangrene can even develop as a result. Therefore, if the patient smokes, he should all the more see a doctor as soon as possible, and also give up the harmful habit of smoking.
If a person has an inflammatory process that affects arterial tissue, doctors talk about a disease such as endarteritis. With this disease, a person complains of extremely acute pain, which is localized either in the feet or in the calf muscles. Moreover, the pain makes itself felt extremely quickly, and not in the evening, as usually happens with fatigue. It is enough for a person to walk only 50-100 steps for him to feel that his legs hurt, and even a feeling of numbness in his legs below the knees. In this case, a person should rest a little, make a short stop, ideally sit for a while. However, unfortunately, this will alleviate the condition of the sick person only for a certain, extremely short time, after which the pain will return again.
And in this situation, a person should seek help from a general practitioner or a vascular surgeon as quickly as possible. The doctor will prescribe the necessary set of tests for the sick person - magnetic resonance contrast angiography, ultrasound examination of blood vessels and arteries, blood testing of the sick person, necessary to confirm or refute the presence of inflammatory processes in the human body.
After all the results of the study are ready, the doctor will accurately establish the diagnosis and prescribe the most optimal treatment, taking into account all the individual characteristics of the person and the nature of the disease and its stage. However, such a disease is extremely insidious. If a sick person feels extremely sharp and very severe pain in the legs, it is necessary to call an ambulance as quickly as possible. The person may need surgical treatment, and immediate treatment.
If a person feels sharp pain in the joints when walking, the doctor may suspect that he has one of two diseases - either arthritis. or arthrosis. A person suffering from such a disease cannot not only walk a lot, but also simply stand for a long time - he begins to complain that his joints begin to “twist” and his legs hurt. If you look closely at the legs of a person suffering from these diseases, you will notice that the skin in the area of the affected joint is swollen and red. And another characteristic distinctive feature of these diseases is weather dependence - when the weather changes, the intensity of pain increases significantly.
A rheumatologist should clarify the diagnosis. In order to determine for sure whether a person has arthritis or arthrosis, it is necessary to conduct a blood test, as well as an X-ray examination of the joints. Based on the data obtained, the doctor prescribes a special course of treatment.
Another reason why legs hurt is thrombophlebitis. A sick person experiences quite strong throbbing pain in the calf muscles. In addition, the calves of a sick person may become red and swollen, the person may complain of a burning sensation in the calf muscles, the veins change - they become denser and become very noticeable.
Treatment should be prescribed by a surgeon who specializes in the treatment of venous diseases. Treatment can be either conservative or surgical, with surgical intervention. As a rule, it all depends on the degree of advanced disease and how great the risk of a blood clot breaking off.
There is a very high probability that a person’s legs hurt due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis develops if, for some reason, there is an acute deficiency of calcium in the body. Painful sensations in the event that a person suffers from osteoporosis are quite acute, and in addition, the development of seizures is also common. Most often, this disease affects women who have already reached the age of forty, especially those with blue eyes, fair skin and hair.
This disease entails a huge variety of negative consequences. That is why a sick person should seek help from a doctor as soon as possible. The doctor will select the optimal treatment regimen that will allow you to get rid of this disease, or at least reduce its manifestation to the possible minimum.
Also, quite often a person’s legs hurt due to his existing flat feet. The most important characteristic sign that a person has flat feet is that he very quickly experiences fatigue when walking. As the disease progresses, pain appears in the area of the feet and legs.
Treatment for flat feet is mandatory. The doctor will show you the necessary exercises that you will have to do daily, and will also help you choose orthopedic insoles. Also, women suffering from flat feet should avoid high heels and excessively narrow shoes.
If you do not ignore the pain in your legs, but consult a doctor in a timely manner and follow all his instructions, very soon your legs will return to their former feeling of lightness!
Unpleasant sensations, a feeling of fatigue in the legs, heaviness, pain - all these symptoms occur during the life of every person. Sometimes the muscles of the legs hurt when walking for a long time, with uncomfortable and incorrectly selected shoes, and pain in the toes can occur when walking in heels. Pain in the calves occurs with a lack of microelements, especially with insufficient consumption of foods containing magnesium.
With atherosclerosis, the legs hurt - the vascular walls harden and thicken, and as a result, the person experiences severe pain in the calves and lower legs. Legs affected by atherosclerosis hurt especially when walking. With this disease, a person freezes, wraps them up, but even rubbing and steaming (although they are contraindicated) do not help.
You cannot tolerate unpleasant symptoms for a long time, as this can lead to serious consequences.
By identifying the true cause of leg pain, you can get rid of it.
Pain in the joints of the legs or hip can occur with diseases of the spinal column. That is, your back needs to be treated, but it may not hurt. The patient feels pain with irradiation (recoil) to the leg. Protrusion and hernias can cause pain in the legs. Varicose veins contribute to pain. Thrombophlebitis is another cause of discomfort. Nagging pain and pain in the calves is one of the symptoms of the disease.
Diabetes mellitus - your legs hurt, which means you should seriously think about it. A diabetic patient is most often noticeable to the naked eye by the shape and thickness of the legs; their vessels are damaged, and blood circulates poorly through them. This can lead to changes in tissue, the development of gangrene and further amputation. With proper nutrition and glucose control, the pain in the limbs decreases slightly, but the disease remains. Leg pain usually occurs with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Pain in the calf area can indicate various diseases that are not always associated with the lower extremities. Let's figure out in what cases the calf muscles may hurt and what symptoms arise.
Leg pain in the calf is not always dangerous. Thus, pain in the calves of the legs when walking and sometimes at rest can manifest itself in various cases. Let's look at the main causes of pain in the calves:
The listed factors influencing the appearance of pain in the calf muscles do not usually lead to serious illnesses and do not require immediate intervention. The main thing in this case is to understand the main cause of the pain syndrome and get rid of it by reducing the load or losing excess weight.
Sometimes warming up overstrained muscles is enough for the pain in the calf muscles to disappear. A sports massage, visiting a sauna or taking a bath can help you quickly get rid of pain in your calves.
Athletes and people involved in various physical activities are often plagued by pain in the calves after running, fast walking, jumping and other activities. Pain in the calf muscle area in this case occurs due to sudden movements, as a result of which the calf muscle is slightly stretched. Prevention of such pain in the calf of the right and left leg is to warm up before training. If your calf still hurts, then give it rest for several days.
However, pain in the calf area can sometimes be a reason to consult a doctor. There are certain diseases whose symptoms include pain in the right or left calf. These include:
All of the listed diagnoses for pain in the calves have quite serious consequences, so they do not tolerate self-medication and require immediate medical attention.
Many people ask questions: why does the calf of the right or left leg hurt, what could it be and how to treat it? First of all, it is necessary to diagnose the root cause of the disease and get rid of it.
In the case of acute vascular diseases, qualified and urgent conservative hospital treatment or surgery (for acute arterial insufficiency) is required.
When the problem is chronic vascular insufficiency, lack of results from conservative therapy and the presence of severe complications (long-healing ulcers, etc.), doctors prescribe surgical correction of the defect.
Whenever you do not know how to treat pain in the calf muscle, seek help from a qualified specialist, do not self-medicate. However, if the pain in the calf muscles is unbearable, then you can take a painkiller yourself (Nurofen, Ibuprofen, Analgin). If your calf muscle hurts when walking, then it is better to send someone to the pharmacy so as not to strain your leg again.
Surgery may be required for pathological disorders of the spine:
Regardless of the reasons that provoke pain in the calves, doctors give general recommendations that significantly improve the patient’s condition:
Provide yourself with a normal rest and work schedule, as well as walk in the fresh air more often and sleep the required 8 hours a day.
When the calf muscle is overstrained, cramps may occur in it. In addition, spasms may indicate disorders of their arterial and venous blood supply. Injuries to the calf muscle can occur when a load exceeds its capabilities, sometimes from a blow to it.
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 calf muscles, intensifying 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, a gradual increase in pain, swelling, thickening and tension of the muscle, and redness of the skin over it.
A peculiar form is parasitic myositis, which occurs when muscles are damaged by parasites (Trichinella, cysticerci, Toxoplasma) and is characterized by fever, pain in the muscles of the limbs, chest, tongue, and masticatory muscles.
In individuals who do not have neurological abnormalities, the causes of muscle syndrome are inflammatory or metabolic myopathies. According to the existing international classification, there are three groups of myopathies: idiopathic inflammatory, caused by drugs and toxins, and caused by infections.
Among idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, about 95% are dermatomyositis, polymyositis, myositis due to systemic connective tissue diseases, paraneoplastic myositis and myositis with intracellular inclusions.
Consultation with a rheumatologist excludes myositis due to systemic diseases.
The most relevant today are myopathies associated with taking statins and fibrates.
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Phone number of our clinic in Kyiv: (+38 044) 206-20-00 (multi-channel). The clinic secretary will select a convenient day and time for you to visit the doctor. Our location and directions are listed here. Look in more detail about all the clinic’s services on its personal page.
If you have previously performed any tests, be sure to take their results to a consultation with your doctor. If the studies have not been performed, we will do everything necessary in our clinic or with our colleagues in other clinics.
Do you have calf pain? It is necessary to take a very careful approach to your overall health. People do not pay enough attention to the symptoms of diseases and do not realize that these diseases can be life-threatening. There are many diseases that at first do not manifest themselves in our body, but in the end it turns out that, unfortunately, it is too late to treat them. Each disease has its own specific signs, characteristic external manifestations - the so-called symptoms of the disease . Identifying symptoms is the first step in diagnosing diseases in general. be examined by a doctor several times a year in order not only to prevent a terrible disease, but also to maintain a healthy spirit in the body and the organism as a whole.
If you want to ask a doctor a question, use the online consultation section, perhaps you will find answers to your questions there and read tips on caring for yourself . If you are interested in reviews about clinics and doctors, try to find the information you need on the forum. Also register on the Eurolab medical to be constantly aware of the latest news and information updates on the site, which will be automatically sent to you by email.