Aching legs at night is a problem for many people. Many people complain to doctors that this condition comes at night, often completely unexpectedly. This phenomenon can be explained not only by the presence of problems in the muscles or ligaments, but is often a symptom of other diseases. Pain in the legs may be accompanied by severe cramping, redness, burning, and swelling. If this condition continues for more than 3 days, you should urgently seek medical help.
The reasons why your legs hurt at night in most situations depend on the location of the pain. Most often, pain occurs due to damage to the muscle system or bones, or disruption of the functioning of certain joints. Night pain usually occurs due to dislocation or sprain of ligaments, old injuries, various fractures, and bruises. Treatment of this phenomenon must begin with recognizing the cause, which may have the following origin:
The main factors in the development of this condition are the following:
Since it is impossible to immediately determine the cause of the leg disease, you should urgently consult a doctor, especially if the lower extremities either become too cold or, conversely, become hot. It is possible that the leg will become numb and the patient will not feel pain. There are cases when the skin is deformed, blisters or inflamed areas, black, red or bluish spots appear on it. Therefore, in any case, if you experience pain at night in your leg, you should urgently undergo examination at a medical facility.
Treatment methods depend on the symptoms of the disease. If there are wounds on the lower limb, including purulent ones, they are treated with hydrogen peroxide. This antiseptic treatment should be done 3 times a day. You cannot unauthorizedly apply kerosene, urine, etc. to such wounds, as this can lead to the development of an inflammatory process and new complications.
If muscle tissue is stretched, it is recommended to apply (warming) compresses or use anti-inflammatory creams, gels or ointments. Fatigue in the lower extremities is well relieved by massage, which at the same time improves blood circulation. It is also good to take a warm bath for this.
In other cases, if there is pain in the lower extremities due to some disease, for example, osteochondrosis, arthritis, arthrosis, diabetes, the patient needs urgent medical attention.
Doctors will examine him and prescribe adequate treatment in accordance with the symptoms of the disease that will be detected in the patient.
Pain in the legs that bothers a person at night is a common complaint when visiting a therapist. As a rule, patients seek medical advice when pain becomes intense or attacks of pain become more frequent. There are many reasons for night pain, and it can be not only diseases of the muscles, ligaments or spine, but also failures in other body systems.
Identifying diseases and causes is the first step to getting rid of this unpleasant symptom. The doctor will help determine why the painful condition occurred, but the patient must clearly describe the nature of the pain, its location and the symptoms accompanying the condition.
Arthrosis is a degenerative disease of the joints, characterized by the slow irreversible destruction of articular cartilage. The prolonged course of arthrosis leads to changes and restructuring of the articular ends of the bones, inflammation and degeneration of the tissues surrounding the joint.
Arthritis is an inflammatory joint disease that usually affects small joints. Common causes of the disease are infections, injuries, autoimmune diseases, neurological pathologies, hereditary predisposition, etc.
The main symptom of both joint diseases is pain , and arthrosis is characterized by certain features of their manifestation. The pain occurs suddenly and is acute. With arthrosis at an early stage, severe pain in the legs appears when moving or turning the body. Progressive arthrosis manifests itself as pain even at rest; a person seeks a comfortable position in which the pain subsides. In case of advanced disease, the pain is acute and resembles lumbago, which is most noticeable closer to the morning.
The pain of arthritis is acute, torments a person constantly and does not subside at rest. As a rule, the pain begins to bother the patient closer to the morning and does not go away on its own.
With arthrosis and arthritis, pain is localized in the area of the joint that is affected by the disease.
In addition to pain, arthrosis of the leg joints is manifested by the following symptoms:
Additional symptoms of arthritis are:
Arthrosis and arthritis are treated by a rheumatologist, orthopedist, surgeon and osteopath .
Diagnostic measures include:
For the treatment of arthrosis of the joints of the lower extremities, the following is used:
Arthritis is treated with:
Most often, pain in the legs at night due to overexertion and stress bothers women and the elderly. The condition is manifested by increased muscle tone in the lower extremities, psycho-emotional disorders, and depressive disorder.
Muscle tension bothers a person both during the day and during night sleep. Patients with a history of mental disorders are at risk.
Pain at night, caused by overexertion or stress, is described by patients as aching, pulling. Sometimes severe sharp pain is noted, similar to cramps. The symptom can bother a person either periodically or be constant.
Nagging pain in the legs is noted in the lower parts, namely in the calf muscles and feet. But sometimes discomfort can be present in the hips and even the gluteal muscles.
Leg pain caused by overexertion is usually accompanied by:
In order to determine the cause of the symptom, you must consult a therapist . Based on complaints and data from diagnostic measures, he will determine further treatment or refer the patient to a consultation with a neurologist or psychotherapist.
Treatment of night pain in the legs associated with overexertion is carried out with the help of sedatives, muscle relaxants, and therapeutic exercises.
Injuries that can lead to leg pain at night include:
Pain from injuries is always sharp and acute . It intensifies with any movements of the legs or palpation.
Severe pain is felt in the area of injury, but it can radiate to the groin area, buttocks, lower back and lower abdomen.
In addition to pain, leg injuries are accompanied by additional symptoms, depending on the type.
are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of lower extremity injuries .
Treatment for leg pain caused by injury includes:
Influenza is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory tract.
With the flu, patients report constant aching pain in their legs, especially at night.
The disease is characterized by the presence of the following symptoms:
Pain in osteomyelitis is characterized by persistence and acute manifestation . Sometimes the pain is aching, excruciating.
The pain syndrome is localized in the segment of the limb affected by the bacterium. As a rule, these are the tibia and femur.
Symptoms of the disease include:
With erysipelas, the patient notes the presence of bursting pain in the affected area.
The pain is localized at the site of the lesion, but often “radiates” to nearby tissues and organs.
The disease develops quickly and begins with the appearance of chills. After a short time, other signs of pathology appear:
If you suspect an infectious disease, you must consult a therapist who will carry out the necessary diagnostics, determine the causes and treatment.
Diagnosis of infectious diseases includes:
Treatment of diseases of infectious origin is carried out under the supervision of a doctor and consists of a set of measures, including:
A degenerative disease characterized by thinning and destruction of the cartilaginous surfaces of bones .
The development of the disease is characterized by aching pain in the spine and lower extremities. As a rule, the legs ache more when moving, but can bother patients at night, when turning the body or staying in one position for a long time.
In addition to pain in the legs, there is numbness, causeless coldness, and tingling. Stiffness in movements is also possible.
The diagnosis of “osteochondrosis” is made on the basis of X-ray examination, CT and MRI data, as well as laboratory tests.
For treatment use:
A chronic inflammatory disease of the blood arteries, which leads to circulatory disorders and, ultimately, to the closure of the lumen of the vessels.
Nature and location of pain
Pain in the legs with this disease is constant, sharp and severe. Discomfort is felt both during movement and at rest. The pain is localized in the calf muscles.
The development of the disease is accompanied by severe fatigue of the legs, a feeling of cold in the lower extremities, numbness and swelling, and pale skin. The patient also suffers from periodic leg cramps, blue discoloration and brittleness of the nail plates.
Diagnosis of the disease is carried out using:
Treatment is carried out with medication, most often using:
Physiotherapy , balneological therapy and hyperbaric oxygenation provide a good therapeutic effect
A pathology that develops as a result of a violation of the outflow of venous blood. The onset of the disease is the appearance of small vascular networks , after which nodular tubercles of veins form on the skin.
The pain with varicose veins is bursting, aching in nature. Sometimes the pain is sharp, throbbing, convulsive. It is localized mainly in the area under the knee joint, in the ankle and lower leg.
A phlebologist is involved in the diagnosis and treatment of pathology. Diagnosis of the disease is made by functional testing, Dopplerography and ultrasound angioscanning.
Foot deformity that develops during pregnancy, heavy physical activity, wearing uncomfortable shoes, and injuries. Sometimes flat feet are hereditary and can be congenital.
Flat feet are characterized by heaviness in the legs, aching muscle pain, and pain in the knee joint. Also, flat feet are often the cause of night cramps in humans.
It is possible to diagnose flat feet after examining the patient and on the basis of studies such as podometry, plantography and lateral radiography of the foot.
Many parents are concerned about the question, “Why might my baby’s legs hurt at night?” In younger patients, leg pain at night can be a consequence of the following conditions and diseases:
Very often, the reason why a child’s leg(s) hurt at night is a condition called “ growing pains .” Experts believe that the occurrence of pain is associated with the rapid growth of the child’s bones. At the same time, the muscular system is slightly delayed in growth, muscles and tendons stretch and compress the joints. The intensity of pain and its localization are different. The most commonly affected area is the front of the thigh, calf and lower leg.
If a child complains of night pain in the legs, it is necessary to show the baby to a doctor and undergo a detailed examination. Timely identification of pathological causes will help avoid the development of complications.
You should seek urgent help from a specialist if:
Also, be sure to watch the next video
If you experience leg pain, experts recommend not postponing a visit to the doctor . But, if consultation is unavailable for some reason or pain occurs rarely and is not accompanied by any additional symptoms, you can help the patient yourself.
The aching pain may subside during a light massage of the legs (feet, calf muscles).
If your legs hurt at night, and the pain is caused by varicose veins or vascular pathologies, you need to take a lying position so that your legs are higher than the level of your head.
Leg pain that occurs at rest and at night is a symptom that cannot be ignored. Many pathologies, the symptom of which is pain in the lower extremities, can lead to irreversible consequences that are dangerous not only to general health, but also to the life of the patient.
There are many reasons for insomnia, but in cases where you twist your legs at night, it is impossible to fall asleep, and measures must be taken to get rid of pain and discomfort.
Unpleasant sensations in the legs at rest, usually at night, can be of varying nature and intensity, but the discomfort caused interferes with normal sleep and rest.
The phenomenon when, after a busy day, the leg muscles pull and ache so much that it is impossible to relax and fall asleep is called “restless legs syndrome.” This psychological anomaly is understood as a condition when a sensorimotor disorder makes itself felt by pain in the legs from the soles of the feet to the knees.
The disorder manifests itself in different ways: a feeling of numbness in the legs, goosebumps, burning, tingling, pulling and shooting pains. The calves become numb and hard. Pain is not always directly related to physical activity, active games, running, or long walking. But in all cases, patients note increased pain and discomfort at rest: in the evening, at night, when the load on the legs is minimal.
It is typical that even a small physical activity - walking around the room - relieves tension in the legs, but as soon as you calm down, go to bed, the discomfort will return again. The more intense the physical stress on the legs the day before, the more the muscles hurt: it feels like the legs are twisting, twitching, it’s impossible to sleep and you need to somehow “calm down” the muscles.
Among the reasons that cause nagging tearing pain in the leg muscles are:
In a child, the appearance of night pain in the legs is associated with intense but uneven growth of the muscular system and blood vessels.
Restless legs syndrome is especially pronounced during periods of sudden growth spurts and is directly related to physical activity. It must be said that “correct” loads - training under the guidance of a professional trainer, for example, do not cause night pain in the legs. Depending on the type of load, the muscles of the thigh or calves may ache, but the nature of the pain is different and can be relieved with a warm bath or massage. Over time, the legs get used to the training and the pain stops.
Nighttime “twisting” in adults can be associated with diseases of internal organs, joints, and blood vessels (insufficient blood supply leads to weakened tissue nutrition and unpleasant sensations). People who are weather dependent have their legs spinning at night “due to the weather” - climate change responds with discomfort in the body.
Night pain cannot be ruled out as a consequence of leg injuries.
Separately, it is necessary to highlight cases when fear, uncertainty, and anxiety are reflected through muscle pain.
Treatment must begin by identifying the cause. First of all, it is necessary to exclude possible pathology of the muscular system, injury, or sprain.
When collecting anamnesis, the doctor pays attention to concomitant diseases of the blood vessels and blood: anemia, atherosclerosis, thrombosis. Inadequate nutrition causes pain in the legs and in this case it is necessary to treat the cause.
Legs hurt at night due to joint diseases - arthritis, arthrosis, gout, injuries. The doctor will tell you how to treat the joints after the examination, and this is the topic of another article.
The situation is similar in the presence of kidney disease, thyroid dysfunction, and heart failure.
But if there are no mentioned pathologies and we are talking about excessive physical or mental stress, then you can relieve the unpleasant sensations yourself.
Before bedtime, baths with decoctions and infusions of medicinal herbs will help relieve muscle tension:
Self-massage of your feet before bed will relieve fatigue and tension. Movements should be smooth. You need to start the massage from below, from the ankle, gradually moving up to the knee.
Finish the massage with stroking. For massage, it is recommended to use a rich cream or warming ointment.
To prevent nighttime muscle pain, you can use relaxation before bed - listening to calm music, passive rest. The sleeping room should be well ventilated, bright lights and harsh sounds should be excluded.
If the pain is the result of psychological overload, then you need to try to calm down, relax; chamomile tea, a decoction of valerian or motherwort, or a sedative tea are useful. Smoking and alcohol negatively affect vascular health and can cause nighttime muscle pain.
In the case when muscle pain in the legs becomes a constant companion to sleep, procedures and medications do not bring relief, you need to seek medical help and undergo a comprehensive examination.
Often people who have had leg injuries complain of pain in their legs at night. If pain appears suddenly, accompanied by burning, swelling, redness of the dermis, cramps, consult an osteopath to find out the causes of pain and methods of treatment.
The leg consists of three parts: thigh, lower leg, foot. They contain tendons, joints, muscle tissue, bone tissue, muscles. Patients complain of pain in the legs, some cannot determine where and how it hurts, the pain covers the entire legs.
The causes of pain in the legs are minor damage to any part of the leg and internal components. With dislocations and fractures, pain accompanies until complete recovery. Pain in the legs at night can be caused by a number of reasons. The doctor will identify the cause and prescribe a course of treatment. Do not try to diagnose yourself - there are many causes of pain:
Particular discomfort is caused by pain at night or before bedtime. The consequences are aggravation of the existing illness, chronic lack of sleep, irritability. Causes of pain:
It is impossible to independently determine the presence of a specific disease; the range of causes of pain is wide. If you have the slightest pain in your legs, immediately contact a professional who will conduct a diagnosis, make a diagnosis, and prescribe treatment.
Let's divide diseases that manifest as pain in the legs into groups:
These groups are characterized by pain in different parts of the legs. After analyzing the sensations, they determine which group the pain in the legs of an individual person belongs to.
Most often, legs hurt in people with diseases of the vascular system leading to varicose veins. The vessels dilate, the elastic wall of the vessel ceases to narrow to its normal state. The stretched wall of the vessel becomes a repository for substances that must be excreted from the body through the natural metabolic process. Blood stagnation occurs. The same thing happens with atherosclerosis - the lumen is closed by plaques, thrombophlebitis - blood clots accumulate in the cavity of the vessel walls. The legs are affected by diseases caused by a violation of nervous regulation, causing damage to the blood vessels of the blood system.
These diseases affect the nearest nerve endings, cause intoxication of tissue vessels, and provoke pain in the legs at night. If pain occurs, contact a vascular surgeon to identify the disease and treat it.
With a lack of microelements and vitamins, at night the body sends signals that are reflected by painful sensations in the muscles of the legs and cramps. It's important to eat right. Convulsions are triggered by a lack of magnesium. A blood test will reveal the vitamin content and determine what the body lacks.
To normalize muscle tone, take a course of vitamin therapy; the results will appear within the first week. The course is prescribed by a doctor based on the results of the analysis and the optimal vitamin complex for a particular patient is selected. Improvements are especially noticeable before bedtime.
If you have problems with the spine, you feel a prolonged aching pain in the legs, which is difficult to relieve with painkillers. Often the pain manifests itself in the lower spine, accompanied by cramps and discomfort in the lower back. Pain manifests itself at night and during the day, at rest and during active actions.
Seeing a doctor will help avoid complications and the disease becoming chronic. The earlier the pathology is detected, the more effective the course of treatment will be.
Intoxication of the body has a detrimental effect on the body. The manifestation of side effects occurs in a complex manner or affects one system, then subsequent ones.
One of the reasons for poisoning the body is a violation of the excretion process. This applies to kidneys, liver, lungs and complex skin diseases. The result is an accumulation of toxic substances in the fibers of muscle tissue. Toxic substances provoke the process of decomposition or increase in the volume and mass of organs or muscles, causing pain.
For treatment, the patient is admitted to a hospital or intensive care unit, depending on the severity of the disease. Self-treatment is prohibited.
Women and elderly people suffer, especially before bedtime. The syndrome manifests itself in excessive leg tension, instability of mental states, and depression. Characteristic for people experiencing constant nervous tension. Overwork provokes a nervous breakdown.
Manifests itself in constant movement of the legs, even while sitting. At night, at rest, before going to bed, there is severe pain in the legs, the leg muscles do not relax.
Young women and men complain that their legs are bothering them for the following reasons:
Superimposed on mental instability, these factors lead to the development of restless legs syndrome. It is important to follow the prescribed course of treatment.
The course of treatment is prescribed by the doctor. Depending on the stage of the disease, the possibility of undergoing complex therapy at home is determined or observation in a hospital is necessary.
To avoid possible complications, call an ambulance if you experience the following symptoms:
Self-treatment is prohibited. If your legs hurt, go to the hospital and get diagnosed. To be sure of the disease causing leg pain, in addition to the examination results, the attending physician must study the patient’s medical history in detail in order to exclude or confirm the presence of a predisposition to genetic pathologies. Then the doctor prescribes a course of treatment, which the patient must strictly follow to avoid complications.
Pain in the legs at night can wake a person in the middle of the night, depriving him of the opportunity to get a full night's sleep and rest. But it is during night sleep that the body directs all its strength and resources to recover, gain strength and energy. A person suffering from leg pain at night is unable to fully work and interact with others, gradually becoming more irritable, restless and vulnerable.
This symptom should not be started or tried to be treated with folk remedies, since severe pain in the legs, from which a person wakes up, may indicate serious health problems. In our material today, we will discuss the causes of leg pain at night, and also give simple and useful tips on how to cope with this symptom yourself.
Pain in the legs at night can signal, first of all, joint diseases - arthritis and arthrosis. With arthritis, a person experiences inflammation of the joints, which is accompanied by pain in the legs at night, stiffness of movement in the morning, pain in the big toe, swelling and swelling of the knee joints, as well as fever and chills if the cause of arthritis is a bacterial infection. The true causes of arthritis are not known; people most often develop arthritis between the ages of 15 and 60 years.
As for arthrosis, in this case pain in the legs at night does not appear due to inflammation, but due to degenerative changes in the joint, which cannot be avoided with age. Arthrosis develops gradually; the greater the destruction of articular cartilage, the stronger the night pain in the legs becomes. In addition to pain, with arthrosis there is swelling in the joint area, stiffness in the morning, as well as crunching and clicking sounds when bending and straightening the joints.
Now that we have discussed the main causes of leg pain at night, let's take a look at the additional ones. Here they are:
In conclusion, we will tell you what to do when your legs hurt at night. Of course, it is imperative to consult a doctor who will make an accurate diagnosis and find out the cause of the symptom. Next, you will most likely be prescribed a special treatment, which you must strictly adhere to. We have compiled for you a list of simple and useful tips that will help relieve leg pain at night and return to your normal lifestyle.
So, what to do when your legs hurt at night:
Leg pain at night, causes and treatment, how to help yourself during attacks? People who regularly suffer from night pain want to know the answers to these questions. The situation is familiar to quite a lot of people. This condition may indicate problems not only with the limbs, but also with other organs.
The human leg consists of three parts: foot, lower leg, thigh. Some people complain of hip pain, others complain of discomfort in their shins or between their legs. There are people whose heels hurt a lot at night. Sometimes pain can be localized much more widely, so often the patient is not able to determine where his discomfort is. Each element of the leg has muscles, tendons, and connective tissue. When any of these become damaged, you may experience leg pain at night.
Most often, the patient complains of pain after injuries (dislocations, fractures, sprains). In this case, treatment is prescribed individually and comprehensively, depending on the degree of tissue damage. That is why it is very important to identify the exact reason why your legs ache. Why do night attacks of pain in the legs occur? The most common reasons:
Knee arthrosis as a cause of pain
In addition to the fact that there are frequent cases where the legs hurt below the knees, unpleasant sensations also arise in the joint itself.
The symptoms of this problem are also varied. It is important to identify the cause in time, as surgical intervention is often necessary. Diseases that cause knee pain at night: arthritis, arthrosis pathologies, inflammation of the blood vessels inside the knee joint, inflammation of the tendon. When knees hurt, arthritis is the culprit in 15% of cases.
Inflammation can affect one or both joints. The disease is rapidly progressive, and later the pain spreads to the entire leg. Tendons are affected mainly in women. Unpleasant sensations occur when going up and down stairs, walking quickly, and during night sleep in a certain position.
Knees often hurt in teenagers too. The fact is that the entire body is undergoing restructuring and rapid growth. The problem can be alleviated by massage with special ointments.
The reason why your legs ache may not be serious, but can lead to quite complex consequences. Emergency help should be called when the leg becomes cold at night, does not feel touch, or pain. In addition, it is the other way around when the limb becomes hot. An inflammatory process may soon appear: the skin will change color, ulcers and wounds will appear. You should not hesitate to see a doctor. If, in addition to the fact that your legs hurt at night, the patient’s mobility is impaired, blood vessels are inflamed, and fingers stop moving, you need to urgently call a doctor. Diseases of this nature should not be treated with folk remedies.
This will cause even more harm to the body. But even with every attack of unpleasant sensations, you should not call an ambulance. When your feet are tired after exercise, long walking in heels, rest, a warming massage, baths with sea salt or lavender will help. After rubbing the limbs, it is recommended to briefly raise the limbs to restore blood flow. When your legs are very tired and discomfort prevents you from sleeping, you need to place a soft cushion or pillow under them. Soon the discomfort will pass.
It is necessary to treat pain in the limbs, paying attention to its nature and manifestations. It is forbidden to use rubbing when the legs have been aching for a long time and ulcers have formed. You need to see a doctor. He will prescribe cold compresses, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agents. When blood oozes from the wound, it must be removed with hydrogen peroxide. It is forbidden to treat such ulcers with folk remedies (applying kerosene, urine, etc.).
When discomfort occurs as a result of injuries, warming ointments and bandages will work well. The pain will bother you for a little while, but when the damaged area warms up, the patient will be able to sleep.
Unpleasant sensations in the lower extremities at night bother many people. Why is this happening? Fatigue, spent on your feet all day. Rest, baths, massage will help here. But when discomfort appears regularly, inflamed veins are noticed, cramps appear - the help of a doctor is needed.