“Why do my legs hurt?” - one of the most common questions among those that doctors hear throughout their practice. Contrary to popular belief, not only geriatric patients, but also very young clients turn to the doctor with this problem. There are a great many reasons for pain or discomfort in the legs and they are divided into several groups.
To correctly make a diagnosis, it is necessary to take into account all factors: the location of the pain (thigh, lower leg or foot), whether the pain is the root cause or is it a symptom indicating that the person, without knowing it, is suffering from a serious illness.
Pain when bruised or sprained. If the injury is not too severe, you can cope with the pain yourself. Firstly, apply something cold, and secondly, immediately use an ointment with an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. The range of such creams in pharmacy kiosks is very wide. If the bruise is moderate, the right choice would be to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory oral drugs for 3-5 days, in addition to what is described above. In powders or tablets it does not matter much. If a sprain is suspected, an x-ray must be taken to rule out a fracture or a broken bone, but the treatment remains the same; an elastic bandage is added, which should be used to loosely fix the damaged area of the leg. Apply a vodka compress
Is there a hematoma left after the injury? And you can deal with this alone. A bruise is blood that has coagulated in the thickness of the skin as a result of an injury. In order for the hematoma to resolve faster, you need to apply a cream containing horse chestnut extract, leech extract or an ointment made on the basis of heparin or troxerutin to the damaged part 2-3 times a day with massage movements. Bodyagi powder has a good effect, but it should not be applied if there are wounds, scratches or cuts on the skin. Draw a mesh pattern on the bruise using calendula tincture.
Muscle pain in the legs due to physical fatigue. With myalgia, the legs hurt very much. The pain is aching, cutting, causes discomfort, and heaviness is felt in the muscles. Most often this happens after strength or cardio training, after hard physical work. The muscles begin to ache the next day due to lactic acid accumulating in it overnight. What to do? Rub your feet with pain-relieving emulsions or creams with a warming effect. The muscles will relax, the pain will subside. It is recommended to use such ointments before physical activity or training.
For all of the following diseases, it is strictly forbidden to self-medicate, follow advice from newspaper clippings or television shows, take dietary supplements and experiment with traditional medical methods. If doubts creep into your head about the possibility of having these diseases, hurry up to make an appointment with a specialist (an orthopedist, surgeon, rheumatologist or phlebologist), get tested and, if possible, undergo a computer scan or x-ray, because abnormalities identified in the early stages are easier amenable to treatment.
Phlebeurysm. Varicose veins are a disease of the 21st century. There is a slight aching pain, fatigue, heaviness in the legs, swelling is observed in the evening, and small purple “stars” appear on the inside of the thigh. If you let the disease take its course, you won’t have long to wait for bulging veins, and the result is surgical intervention. The best prevention is compression garments, which always keep the venous system in good shape, and cooling tonic creams for the legs. For people who are on their feet all day, in the fall and spring it is useful to take a monthly course of drops or tablets based on horse chestnut extract or other venotonics.
Sharp pain in the knee most often means that one of the menisci is damaged. The meniscus is a cartilage “cushion” that protects the joint from damage. Although its density is quite high and it can withstand heavy loads, a torn meniscus is the most common injury among athletes. The knee swells quickly, making it impossible to bend or straighten the leg. A serious complication after injury is bursitis - inflammation of the joint capsule. With this disease, the pain increases, and large swelling appears in front of the knee. Hospitalization required.
Bone cancer is the rarest of all cancers. A tumor arises from bone cells. In the case of such a serious illness, the patient experiences intense, constant pain, which intensifies at night. If the patient has a tumor, the following symptoms are noted: constant weakness, deterioration or lack of appetite, dizziness, insomnia. The pain in the legs is intense, persistent, attacks are not relieved by analgesics and do not subside after rest. According to statistics, men and children are more prone to this disease than women.
Spinal tuberculosis, tuberculous osteitis and joint tuberculosis are the most common forms of bone tuberculosis, their causative agent is Koch's bacillus. Pain in the legs is often accompanied by discomfort in the lower back, numbness or tension in the muscles. Such manifestations are characterized by intoxication of the body and destruction of bone tissue. The intensity of pain is directly related to the stage of the disease, which became the root cause. The causes of its occurrence can be physical overload, communication with a person suffering from tuberculosis, hypothermia and poor nutrition.
The presence in the body of pathogenic, pus-producing bacteria (pyogenic) is the cause of the purulent-necrotic process, osteomyelitis, which at the initial stage of development is easily confused with the symptoms of a common acute respiratory infection. Leg pain is most often monotonous and aching. Among the pronounced symptoms are chills, fever up to 40 degrees, rapid pulse, night sweats, and weakness in the body. The infectious disease affects the tibia and femur. The skin becomes inflamed and the tissues become swollen. Abscesses appear on the body. 30% of all patients suffering from osteomyelitis are children under one year old.
Arthritis, inflammation of the joints, can be both chronic (legs constantly hurt) and acute, characterized by severe swelling and pain. There are several types of the disease: rheumatoid arthritis - severe inflammation of all joints, over time complicated by their deformation and terrible, unremitting pain; gouty arthritis, which most often affects the joints of the lower extremities due to uric acid crystals settling on them, and osteoarthritis, which violates the integrity of the cartilage structure.
Gout most often affects the toes, and the foot becomes deformed. Uric acid crystals settle on the joints due to the fact that the kidneys cease to cope with their function. The pain is throbbing, sharp, sharp. The damaged part is red and hot to the touch. Gout is often called the disease of meat eaters. Its comprehensive treatment must necessarily include a special diet that completely revises the diet, excluding red meat, smoked meats and sour foods. Getting rid of the disease is not difficult if you strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations. In women, this disease is diagnosed extremely rarely.
Along with pain, so-called “goosebumps”, decreased sensitivity of the muscles of the lower extremities, burning of the legs, and cramps are also noted. There is a feeling that you are wearing stockings on your legs. At night the patient is tormented by thirst and profuse sweating. Ignoring the disease is deadly: the consequences can be trophic ulcers on the legs, tissue necrosis, and gangrene. In diabetes, the legs can hurt for two reasons: due to a blood clot or atherosclerosis, the vessels supplying oxygen to the tissues become clogged, resulting in oxygen starvation, or due to chronically high sugar, the nerve fibers transmitting impulses atrophy.
A drawing, as if flowing pain, along the back of the thigh from the tailbone to the lower leg may indicate neurological disorders in the patient. Discomfort increases when walking, going up or down stairs. The patient is limited in physical activity due to dull pain reaching the lower back along the sciatic nerve. It is advisable to undergo a course of massage or acupuncture, after consulting with your doctor. To avoid this, follow simple rules: keep your lower back warm and dry, do not lift heavy objects, watch your posture while walking, sleep on a comfortable mattress.
Dropping and thickening of the transverse or longitudinal arch of the foot is called flat feet. This disease is manifested by a feeling of “lead” in the legs, muscle pain, and immediate fatigue when walking. By evening the foot becomes larger. Flat feet can also develop in overweight people. Review your shoes and add a visit to an orthopedist to your urgent to-do list - a specialist will conduct an examination and select suitable insoles, prescribe massage and exercises. It is impossible to cure flat feet in an adult, only correct them, but this will significantly improve the quality of life.
A spur is a styloid, periodically inflamed bone growth on the platform of the heel bone. Causes acute pain in the foot when moving. Without a medical prescription, it is only permissible to apply a compress with medical bile at night and loosely bandage the heel.
Taking analgesics for chronic pain in the legs is strongly not recommended: the pills will mask the discomfort, but the cause will remain, and the health condition will only worsen over time.
In most cases, acupuncture and massages have a beneficial effect, but even such simple measures can be taken if the cause of the pain is 100% known and beyond doubt. If you are still wondering why your legs hurt so much, do not take rash steps, but sign up for a consultation with a competent specialist.
Excess weight plays a huge role in the development of diseases of the lower extremities, because they take on the weight of the whole body and perform a supporting function, so proper nutrition and regular, albeit not intense, physical activity will be an excellent prevention of most diseases, the symptoms of which are pain in the legs .
If your legs swell, hurt after drinking alcohol, or you experience a cramp, this is a signal that serious pathological processes are occurring in the body, and it’s time to stop drinking. There are also situations when the legs hurt in those who rarely drink alcohol. In this case, you should definitely go to the doctor: even a small dose of alcohol weakens the body, which is why various chronic diseases make themselves known.
Your feet may hurt after any alcoholic drink. Even beer can cause a reaction if a person has an individual intolerance to phytohormones, which are rich in hops and barley. This is the name for compounds that regulate various vital processes in a plant organism. They got their name due to their similar structure to female sex hormones, estrogens. Once they enter the body, they can cause a wide variety of reactions and cause obesity, hormonal imbalances, and swelling of the extremities.
Other types of alcohol are no less dangerous for the body. Moreover, we are talking not only about original or burnt vodka, but even about natural wine, the positive effects of which alcohol lovers like to mention. Alcohol, once in the body, destroys cells, slows down regeneration, and weakens the nervous system, which is not easy to treat.
Ethanol changes the composition of the blood: it contributes to its thickening, the adhesion of red blood cells, which are usually located at some distance from each other. After this, blood clots of different sizes are formed, which, together with the blood flow, begin their journey through the body . Many of them are unable to pass through small capillaries, causing them to become clogged or ruptured. They are also capable of blocking larger vessels, which, if partially blocked, will disrupt blood flow; if completely blocked, it will stop the movement of blood through the vessel.
Since the blood supplies various nutrients and oxygen to the tissues, taking away decay products and carbon dioxide from them, the cells begin to starve and die. If the blockage occurs in the area of the heart or brain, there will be a stroke with a high probability of death. If the blood vessels in the legs are blocked, a person may stop walking, and later gangrene may develop. Therefore, in order to treat the disease, it is imperative to pay attention to the symptoms in time: dizziness, numbness of the legs and arms.
Another reason why legs swell, hurt, and have cramps after drinking alcohol is circulatory problems. The cause of pain in the legs after alcohol can be varicose veins, when the lumen of blood vessels increases. Since blood flows through the veins, which carries decay products to the heart, kidneys and other organs of the excretory system for purification, blood circulation slows down due to excessively dilated vessels. A symptom of this is numbness and swelling of the limbs. That is why, if you have varicose veins, alcohol consumption should be significantly limited and drinking should be avoided.
Leg pain and cramps may be due to a lack of potassium. Under the influence of alcohol, various microelements are washed out of the body, including potassium, which affects the functioning of all soft tissues. This also applies to the heart, kidneys, blood vessels, liver, and brain.
Potassium regulates the content of acids, salts, and alkalis in the body, preventing the appearance of edema and promoting the synthesis of necessary enzymes. Also, together with sodium, this element is responsible for water balance.
But potassium does not accumulate in the body. It comes with food, then enters the blood, which carries it out of the body, and removes the excess along with the kidneys. That is why the body reacts instantly to a lack of potassium, letting you know with the following symptoms:
As soon as the amount of potassium stabilizes, the body will return to normal, leg pain, swelling, and cramps will disappear. To treat the disease, you must stop drinking and pay attention to your diet. Milk and fermented milk products, liver, and fish will help get rid of seizures and stabilize the functioning of the nervous, circulatory system, kidneys, and heart. Porridges, vegetable salads, greens, berries, fruits, and citrus fruits are very healthy.
If, after drinking alcohol, his knees begin to hurt, this may indicate damage to the joints, which are best treated at the first symptoms of the disease. Joints are movable joints that connect bones to each other. On all sides, the joints are protected by a connective tissue bag containing fluid, which provides the joints with nutrition and acts as a lubricant.
Under the influence of alcohol, calcium, which is necessary for the normal functioning of joints, is washed out of the body. Because of this, there is a pathological distribution of fluid and the appearance of edema in the area of the folds (on the knees, ankles). Insoluble salts (urates) are also formed, which penetrate into the fluid around the joint, cartilage, and then into the bone, which makes itself felt by pain.
Alcohol reduces immunity, causing various inflammations, including in the joints. As a result, fluid from the tissues that surround the joint penetrates into its cavity, which leads to irritation of the nerves and severe pain in the legs.
If a person drinks a lot, the joints quickly wear out, which makes itself felt already at a young age. Thus, alcoholism causes the development of:
All these diseases are very dangerous and are the reason why a person, after drinking alcohol, feels that his legs, knees, and ankles hurt and become swollen. That is why in such situations it is necessary to consult a doctor for examination and begin to treat the disease.
Numbness in the legs and loss of sensation after drinking can be caused by a disease of the nervous system. These include vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD), paresis of the lower extremities, polyneuropathy and other ailments. If you have these diseases, drinking alcohol is dangerous, and alcohol can also cause the development of these diseases.
With paresis of the lower extremities, muscle strength decreases, which can lead to loss of motor activity, as nerve endings atrophy and blood circulation in the legs worsens. As a result, the person stops walking.
Polyneuropathy is a disease that, according to statistics, affects about twenty percent of alcoholics. This is the name for a group of diseases in which peripheral nerves are damaged, which is why the legs can completely fail. Symptoms of the disease are numbness of the limbs, itching, and mild tingling. The disease may be accompanied by severe mental disorders.
In alcoholics, polyneuropathy develops due to the fact that alcohol penetrates neurons, neurotransmitters and slows down the transmission of impulses from cell to cell. Another cause of the disease is oxygen deficiency, when, due to alcohol in the blood, there is a lack of oxygen, which is vital for every cell.
Thus, considering how many diseases provoked by alcohol can cause swelling, cramps, and pain in the legs, it is very important to stop drinking alcohol, consult a doctor for a diagnosis and begin to treat the disease. If the problem is ignored, the legs may fail completely in the future.
Having a viral disease is not so bad, after which various post-morbid symptoms occur. After the flu, you may encounter such a symptom when your legs hurt. To understand how to eliminate this symptomatology, it is necessary to understand the reasons for its occurrence.
Frail people experience cold and crunching in their joints. People of large build experience swelling, heaviness of the legs, and aching pain even at rest.
The website ogrippe.com notes the following factors that cause leg pain:
An inflammatory process begins to develop in the joints, which leads to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation has a destructive effect on the joint tissue, where salts begin to accumulate. In addition to the indicated reasons, factors in the development of this condition include irregular sleep and poor diet.
Influenza is a common viral disease that affects people every year and is contagious and dangerous to children and those with weakened immune systems. It is not the disease itself that is dangerous, but the consequences that may occur behind it. That is why you should be familiar with the characteristics of the flu, which often becomes an epidemic in the winter.
The causative agents of the disease are viruses of groups A, B, C. About 30% of the urban population gets sick with influenza during the winter. Most of them are children. Features of influenza are:
The influenza virus is constantly mutating. Those drugs and vaccinations that helped last year may be useless this year. This is why medications are constantly being updated.
Various pathological factors are noted in the body after influenza:
If a person eats poorly, finds himself in a climate where there are changes in temperature and humidity, visits places with large crowds of people, and does not receive enough light, then he is more prone to the flu.
After the flu, a person should be attentive to his own body for about a week. Various pathologies and complications are possible after an illness, which can lead to death. Complications are especially common in children under 3 years of age. Their health should be monitored for more than a week after recovery from the flu in order to identify pathologies in time. Children with diabetes, asthma and disorders of the nervous system are especially susceptible to such disorders.
In order to begin treatment for influenza in a timely manner, it is necessary to identify it in time. The symptoms that are inherent in this infectious disease will help with this. They are different from the common cold, so they will be easy to recognize. These include:
If a bacteria is attached to the virus, then corresponding symptoms appear in the form of a runny nose, cough, nasal congestion, etc. In this situation, it is definitely necessary to consult a doctor, since we are talking about a complication of the disease.
If you ignore the symptoms of the flu and do not treat it, then complications will certainly appear, which are:
During or after the flu, a person may experience leg complications. He feels pain in one or both limbs. This may indicate myositis, or muscle inflammation. Infectious myositis causes severe pain in the legs, which can develop during the flu period. This leads to the inability to rely on the limb that hurts, which reduces a person’s activity.
Pain in the legs is severe and increasing, which affects motor ability. If left untreated, the pain increases. The consequence of myositis can be absolute muscle atrophy. When you consult a doctor, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, massage, antibacterial agents, and physiotherapy will be prescribed.
Another complication after the flu can be rheumatoid arthritis, which affects joint tissue. This disease is no less dangerous than myositis. It can lead to disability due to deformation of bone tissue, which occurs during an illness that is not treated.
Doctors resort to long-term treatment, which depends on the severity of the disease. Here you will have to be patient and take time to eliminate this complication.
Rheumatoid arthritis is another complication of the flu, which also causes pain and inability to move normally. Gradually, the joint loses its mobility, which makes a person disabled if he does not use medical help.
Any complication can be prevented if flu treatment is started on time. This is possible by contacting a doctor who will make a diagnosis and begin drug treatment. It is better to prevent the development of complications than to treat them for a long time. Antibiotics are often used here to help kill the bacterial infection.
Do not forget about such a factor as a person’s desire to endure the flu on his feet. He continues to be active despite his painful condition. This soon leads to the fact that the legs begin to hurt, and the general condition worsens.
Why does the flu provoke such a symptom when your legs hurt? This can happen both during illness and after recovery. Doctors explain this process by disruption of blood and lymph circulation through the vessels, which leads to retention of antibodies in the joints. Since the immune system is in the fighting stage, it attacks both diseased and healthy cells. What to do about it?
Firstly, you should be aware of the effect of antibiotics on this process. They are the ones who delay blood circulation, which leads to an attack of healthy cells by antibodies. A person begins to feel aches throughout the body, especially in the joints, which he begins to move and rotate poorly. Flexion and extension becomes painful.
Secondly, focus your efforts on eliminating the flu. It is he who provokes an immune attack on healthy cells. The body should be helped to destroy viruses so that they do not increase the temperature and do not make the immune system active to fight.
It is better to prevent a disease than to treat it. The following tips will help:
After the flu, if your legs begin to hurt, you can use anti-inflammatory medications and painkillers:
Additional procedures to promote recovery and relieve leg pain are:
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On average, a person gets rid of leg pain within 2-3 weeks with the help of medical measures. If treatment is carried out independently, then the prognosis is unpredictable. You should be aware that complications after the flu are a consequence that can be avoided if the first disease is treated in time.
Representatives of the fair sex love to wear high-heeled shoes because of the amazing visual effect: their legs seem longer, their figure thinner, their outfit more elegant. However, after the end of the celebration, women often feel a lot of unpleasant sensations: pain in the foot, aching in the back, general fatigue of the body. To ensure that beauty does not require unnecessary sacrifices and does not lead to the development of all kinds of diseases, it is necessary to choose the right shoe models, monitor your posture and perform simple procedures to relieve fatigue.
Many girls, when buying shoes for special occasions, tend to choose a model with very high heels, completely disregarding the anatomical features of the foot. However, excessive arching of the foot makes the gait unnatural and uncertain due to small steps when walking and constantly maintaining balance while standing still.
Therefore, the taller the girl, the higher the heel she can wear. A salvation for short representatives of the fairer sex can be shoes with a platform or wedge heel, in which the area of the front part of the sole is too high. Before purchasing, be sure to walk around the store to understand how convenient this model is.
In addition, pay attention to the following details:
In shoe stores, boutiques and pharmacies you can purchase silicone inserts that are installed on top of the insoles. They have different purposes and configurations: pads under the heel to visually increase height, a soft wedge to reduce pressure on the toes, an insert under the instep to correct flat feet.
Stylists claim that shoes with heels over 6 centimeters are designed not for everyday wear, but for special occasions. How to prepare the body for an unusual load? A few days before the holiday, wear medium-height wedge shoes for work or short walks. Be sure to bring replacement moccasins or ballet shoes with you.
To strengthen your calf muscles and arches, perform simple exercises. They involve clenching and unclenching your fingers, walking on your toes and heels, rolling a needle-shaped rubber ball, walking barefoot on sand, grass, or a wooden floor. Such gymnastics is also useful for people who are forced to constantly sit or stand in one place (office workers, teachers, workers at the machine).
Particular attention should be paid to hygiene procedures for the feet. Do not allow the skin to become rough, calluses to develop into corns, or the occurrence of fungal diseases. A high-quality pedicure and various foot baths will make your feet soft and healthy.
What to do if your feet hurt after wearing heels? Orthopedists explain that pain is a natural reaction of the body to walking in an unnatural position of the foot. Long-term wearing of high-heeled shoes causes deformation of the anterior arch and atrophy of the back of the foot. In addition, displacement of the pelvic bones and curvature of the spine occurs.
Therefore, after coming home after a special event, take off your shoes and lie down on the bed or sofa for a few minutes, completely relaxing the muscles of your legs. Next, it is useful to take a shower, ending it by dousing your feet alternately with a stream of hot and cold water. Then rub your entire body well with a soft terry towel and rub your feet with an ointment containing menthol or horse chestnut extract.
If the pain persists, make a foot bath using sea salt and a drop of lavender and peppermint essential oil. At the same time, turn on calm music or watch your favorite movie. If you are prone to swelling, prepare in advance cubes of frozen herbal infusions that can be used as a soothing compress.
Wearing high-heeled shoes is dangerous not only due to pain in the feet, but also due to chafing of the skin. Often, after removing dress shoes, you can see a watery callus on the toes or heel. It is a translucent bubble filled with lymph. If it is not damaged, it is necessary to continue to protect its integrity. In this case, the liquid will gradually resolve, the crust will become rough and fall off, and in its place will remain new, strong skin.
A burst callus requires different treatment. Apply an aloe leaf cut lengthwise or raw grated potato to the damaged area. Panthenol spray will anesthetize and disinfect the wound, and syntomycin ointment will speed up the recovery process. Over the next few days, you should apply a disposable bactericidal patch to the blister before leaving home.
There are diseases for which wearing high-heeled shoes is contraindicated. One of them is varicose veins. It is a pathological expansion, lengthening and thinning of the venous walls, as a result of which blood cannot fully reach the heart. Stagnant processes often provoke the formation of clots, which pose a danger to health and life.
Women with flat feet are also not recommended to wear narrow stilettos. In the absence of natural arches of the foot, the load on the sole of the feet is distributed incorrectly, and excessive bending of the foot contributes to problems with the spine and joints. Therefore, people with this pathology need to choose elegant pumps or complement the festive look with suede or fabric boots.
In addition, wearing narrow shoes for more than half an hour is prohibited for representatives of the fairer sex who suffer from obesity, curvature of the spine, a tendency to spasms in the calf muscles, or valgus. However, don't despair. Modern shoes have wonderful models with small, stable heels, which are designed specifically for special occasions.
In veterinary medicine, bloating in a rabbit is called gastrointestinal stasis (GIS). This disease bothers animals quite often, since their digestive system has its own characteristics.
The rose is often called the queen of flowers for its beautiful delicate buds and persistent tart aroma. There are garden and indoor varieties of this plant, but all of them are distinguished by lush green foliage and a long flowering period.
Any surgical intervention is a great stress for our body, after which we face a rather difficult, long and painful stage of recovery. During the operation, we are subjected to anesthesia, which has a negative effect on our body, which is why in the postoperative period we are faced with various kinds of “consequences”: general malaise and weakness, headache, frequent dizziness and nausea - all this worries 90 percent of all who faced with any operation. However, there is another fairly common symptom that worries most people who have undergone surgery, and we are talking about muscle pain, or more precisely, pain in the legs after surgery. Why is this happening? And how dangerous is it? In this article we will answer your question, why do your legs hurt after surgery?
It is immediately worth noting that the occurrence of pain in the legs or swelling in them during the postoperative period is a completely natural phenomenon that occurs as a result of various factors and causes. For example, the occurrence of such a pain syndrome may be influenced by the presence of the following factors:
the general health of the patient before surgery;
the presence of any leg diseases (varicose veins, thrombosis, etc.);
age category of the patient;
number of previous operations;
personal characteristics of the body;
medical manipulations during surgery.
As a rule, such a symptom as pain in the legs after surgery does not appear immediately - as patients note, the legs begin to hurt and swell approximately on the second or third day. As for the intensity of painful sensations, in this situation the pain can also be different - someone is faced with quite severe pain in the ankle and feet, while others are bothered by less intense pain.
As for swelling, it also manifests itself differently in everyone: in some patients the leg swells greatly, while in others the resulting swelling is barely noticeable. As we have already said, the nature of such “consequences” depends on many reasons and factors, and only a specialist can say unequivocally how normal your postoperative period is.
As we have already said, a similar symptom occurs approximately on the second or third day and goes away about a week after its onset. In most cases, the peak of leg swelling occurs around the fourth day, after which it begins to decrease quite quickly. If the pain and swelling does not go away, you must inform your doctor about this, who will prescribe an additional examination for you and will be able to identify the cause of these pains.
So what could be causing pain and swelling in the legs after surgery? Next, we will tell you in more detail about possible diseases and pathologies that can provoke the occurrence of such a pain syndrome:
If pain and swelling in the legs occurs after surgery, the first thing to do is to dissuade yourself from the fact that the cause of their occurrence is not a disease such as thrombosis. The essence of this disease is the formation of blood seals that “accumulate” in the arteries and veins. It is worth noting that vein thrombosis is a very dangerous disease, the treatment of which, if not started in time, can lead to the most dire consequences in the future.
To identify this disease, the patient must undergo an ultrasound examination, which will help identify the true condition of the veins. If such a diagnosis is confirmed, then in this situation you will be referred to a specialist such as a phlebologist, who will subsequently deal with your direct treatment. As a rule, when treating a disease such as thrombosis, a specialist prescribes medications that help thin the blood and eliminate swelling;
Lymphedema or lymphatic congestion.
If an ultrasound examination shows that there are no problems with the veins, then in this situation we can talk about making a diagnosis such as lymphedema. The essence of this pathology is the stagnation of lymph in the veins, arteries and vessels, which in turn leads to painful sensations in the legs, as well as in the feet.
As a rule, in the postoperative period, this disease manifests itself through the formation of slight swelling in the thigh area, which subsequently spreads to the lower part of the leg. At the same time, the legs themselves, after a certain period of time, become like columns. Also, additional symptoms of this disease include such factors as the absence of a pattern of the network of saphenous veins, pallor of the skin in the affected area, as well as thickening of the skin itself.
It is worth noting that this disease can manifest itself many years after the operation; for example, it is not uncommon for more than a decade to pass after surgery, some kind of injury or radiation, when a pathology such as lymphedema begins to appear.
As we have already said, such a “consequence” of surgical intervention as pain in the legs is a completely natural phenomenon, however, despite this fact, your attending physician must be informed of its presence; This is the only way to avoid many complications and any negative consequences in the future. Of course, any post-operative period consists of a set of certain measures that contribute to your speedy recovery.
Remember that it is strictly forbidden to prescribe treatment for yourself, because in this way you risk aggravating the situation. As a rule, your attending physician, after all the necessary examinations, will prescribe you adequate treatment and indicate the necessary recommendations that must be followed strictly. Below we will tell you about such recommendations in more detail:
If a specialist has established diagnoses such as thrombosis or lymphedema, then in this situation the doctor prescribes individual treatment based on special medications. If swelling or pain in the legs after surgery is caused by other factors, then in this situation the specialist, as a rule, prescribes potent diuretics - Lasix, furosemide, etc., which can eliminate the problem and alleviate your condition. Remember that it is strictly prohibited to prescribe the above medications yourself;
The essence of this method of getting rid of swelling of the legs after surgery is to wear special knitwear - tights or stockings - which, as it were, “squeezes” the leg, thereby eliminating the resulting swelling. This method is especially often recommended by a specialist after undergoing surgery related to varicose veins. It is also worth noting that the effectiveness of wearing such knitwear depends on many factors, which is why you can resort to using this method only with the permission of your attending physician;
The essence of lymphatic drainage lies in massage, which consists of alternating phases: light massaging movements of the feet and leg tissues and massage using deep movements on the lymph nodes of the legs. It is worth noting that this method of getting rid of pain in the legs and relieving swelling is quite effective, however, it is worth considering that only a medical professional can perform such a massage. Performing this massage on your own can lead to negative consequences;
As we have already said, in most cases, swelling of the legs develops against the background of the accumulation of lymph in the vessels, veins and arteries, which in turn causes fluid retention in the body, and as a result, the formation of edema. In order to get rid of this problem, as a preventive measure, a specialist prescribes a special diet, the essence of which is limited intake of spicy, fried and salty foods, as well as limited fluid intake;
"Gymnastics" for legs.
As a rule, in the first days after surgery, the specialist recommends limiting any movement, preferring bed rest, which in turn also contributes to the formation of swelling in the legs. Of course, maximum rest and the absence of any physical activity are the recommendations that must be followed, however, our legs begin to “suffer” from such measures.
To ensure that the “consequences” of bed rest do not affect our legs, it is recommended to adhere to several simple rules. So, for example, when in a horizontal position, make sure that your feet are higher than the level of the rest of your body, namely, slightly raised; For these purposes, you can use a small cushion or pillow, which must be placed under the soles of your feet.
As you can see, pain in the legs after surgery occurs for the most natural reasons, however, in some cases, this pain syndrome may indicate various disorders in the body and existing pathologies, which in turn can be quite dangerous. That is why, if pain in the legs occurs after surgery, it is imperative to contact your attending physician, who, after examination, will make a diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment.
Drinks containing ethanol have a negative effect on the human body. In addition, sometimes a small dose of alcohol can lead to the development of certain diseases and complications. A drink of even weak strength can be a factor in the formation of pain, for example, in the legs. Why do my legs hurt after drinking alcohol?
Ethyl alcohol or ethanol itself is not a toxic product. Acetaldehyde, which is one of the decomposition products, poses a great danger to the body. The latter is characterized by increased toxicity. Drinking drinks containing ethanol in large doses causes intoxication of the body and the appearance of signs of a hangover.
The most common of them are:
People who drink alcohol for a long time often suffer from liver disease and also notice disruptions in the functionality of the heart.
Why does my whole body hurt and ache in the morning after drinking alcohol? Ethanol has a detrimental effect on the entire body, affecting some organs and muscles. After all, ethyl alcohol dilates blood vessels, thereby promoting the removal of potassium. As a result, its level decreases, and this can cause the development of many unpleasant diseases.
In addition, ethanol has a toxic effect on the nervous system. Therefore, the nerve endings stop working correctly, there is a lack of coordination, hands begin to shake and weakness and pain occur in the limbs.
Alcohol affects everyone differently. Some people do not show any particular signs of a hangover for a long time, and some suffer even from minimally drunk doses. However, sooner or later, alcohol abuse ends in the development of serious pathologies of internal organs and pain in the legs. There are many factors that provoke the appearance of pain in the legs after drinking alcohol.
The main reasons why legs hurt after drinking alcohol:
The problem of pain in the legs must be taken seriously. Because alcohol abuse can cause failure of the lower extremities. Signs such as cramps or numbness in the legs indicate damage to the nervous system by alcohol.
In addition to pain, drinking alcohol can cause pathologies of the nervous system. The main sign of this phenomenon is an unpleasant sensation in the upper legs: sudden muscle contraction, trembling, and others. All signs of dysfunction of the nervous system are caused primarily by potassium deficiency.
Potassium, unlike other microelements, is not able to accumulate in the body. The required amount of this substance comes with the food consumed. The bloodstream delivers potassium to internal organs and tissues. Afterwards, this microelement is excreted through the excretory system.
Signs of potassium deficiency:
When the potassium balance is normalized, the pain immediately disappears.
Why do my legs hurt after drinking alcohol? How to get rid of this problem?
Important! In order for the pain to go away completely, it is recommended to completely abstain from alcohol. Reducing the amount of ethanol consumed will only reduce the intensity of the pain.
If you do nothing and just continue to drink alcohol-containing drinks, the intensity of the pain will only increase. And after a certain time, failure of the lower extremities may occur.
If pain in the legs occurs, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor, conduct a full diagnosis to identify the cause of its occurrence, the presence of pathology, and also prescribe effective treatment.
To alleviate the painful syndrome caused by drinking alcohol, it is recommended to adhere to the following tips:
Important! If a person is predisposed to developing varicose veins, he needs to stop drinking alcohol. At the first symptoms of varicose veins, you should immediately consult a doctor, because often an exacerbation of the disease can only be treated with surgery.
If you suffer from very severe pain, you can massage yourself. It is recommended to start with small strokes. Then the pressure gradually increases and the painful areas are warmed up. Any ointment that has a warming effect is suitable for massage. The ointment should be applied in a thin layer to painful calves.
The appearance of pain in the legs after alcoholic drinks indicates problems in the functioning of some internal organs.
If after drinking alcohol you have to pay with pain in your legs, then the most rational solution would be to completely stop drinking alcohol.
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Most people attribute pain in the legs to signs of simple fatigue. But the symptom may indicate the development of serious diseases . The local location, intensity of pain and accompanying symptoms will help to identify the disease in a timely manner.
The nature of pain may vary. There are chronic and acute pain. The second occurs sporadically, but causes much more discomfort. Chronic pain is a dangerous phenomenon that indicates the progression of a certain disease. In both cases, you must immediately consult a doctor.
To determine the cause of the discomfort, it is important to understand where the pain is. Pain may be localized in the following areas:
Important: Self-diagnosis is fraught with incorrectly selected treatment and complications. Even the nature of the pain cannot always be determined independently.
There are a huge number of possible causes of painful sensations . The most harmless ones include physical fatigue or weather sensitivity. A woman's legs may hurt during pregnancy. People who lead a sedentary lifestyle may notice knee pain after unusual physical activity.
Before making a diagnosis, the doctor will determine whether there are other symptoms. They help to make the right conclusion . For this purpose, careful palpation and visual inspection are performed. The following symptoms may occur along with pain:
After analyzing the symptoms, additional diagnostic procedures are carried out. Only with their help can a final verdict be made.
The most common cause of hip to knee pain is physical fatigue after intense exercise. If no active actions have been taken recently, then we can talk about coxarthrosis. In this case, pain impulses appear only during movement.
At rest, no discomfort is observed. Most often, the disease appears in women after 40 years of age.
Another cause of such pain may be necrosis of the femoral head or infarction of the hip joint. Both diseases are characterized by intensive development. They can be diagnosed in the first days of the onset of the disease.
Features: Very rarely the hip hurts due to the development of rheumatism. The disease is accompanied by high fever, pain in the shoulder area and decreased performance.
Pain above the knee at the back of the leg can be either aching or sharp with sudden movements. A muscle or ligament may hurt above the knee. Muscle pain is characterized by mild tension. It usually appears after workouts specifically aimed at strengthening the thigh. The sensations in this area are different from the discomfort that appears in front of the knee.
One of the causes of discomfort on the back of the knee is the inflammatory process in the area of the popliteal artery. This condition is extremely dangerous. If left untreated, blockage of the vessel may occur, which will lead to dire consequences.
The cause of pain in the leg muscles above the knee in front most often lies in damage to the knee or an inflammatory process in the ligament or tendon. The question may arise as to why there is a crunching sound when moving. It usually occurs due to injury or degenerative changes. Pain or aching in the upper part of the knee may be due to overload in the legs. Treatment in this case is accompanied by limitation of the patient’s mobility.
Other possible causes of knee pain include:
For athletes, a pressing question is: what to do if your legs hurt above the knees on the side? The sensations are slightly different from the pain that appears in the front of the knee. The inside of your leg may ache, pull, or ache. These symptoms indicate meniscal damage. The reason for this phenomenon is intense sports activities . The trainer supervising the training can tell you why this happens and how to avoid injury.
Damage to the medial structures is accompanied by crunching and swelling. Muscle tone decreases. Moving your leg becomes painful. In this case, emergency medical attention is required.
Pain that extends to the area just above the knee is common among runners when their running technique is poor. There is a gradual stretching of the ligaments, which leads to disruption of the functioning of the patella.
Without proper treatment, the kneecap can move. The nature of the pain in this situation is aching.
Another cause of pain in the knee area is damage to the tissues of the hip.
Analysis of symptoms is not enough to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment. Additional diagnostic methods are being carried out. These include the following:
If there is a suspicion of the development of vascular diseases, angiography or ultrasound examination is performed. If soft tissue is damaged, an MRI or ultrasound is prescribed. If fractures occur, X-rays are the most appropriate option.
The treatment process includes complex therapy. It is assigned on an individual basis. The duration of treatment depends on whether the disease is in a chronic or acute stage . The main ways to get rid of knee pain include:
Interesting: If there is an inflammatory process, antibiotics are prescribed. In certain situations, the use of hormonal drugs may be required.
Taking medications is practiced in the fight against any disease. Their goal is to stop the source of damage and strengthen the body. There are several groups of medications used for knee problems. These include:
The use of physiotherapy is most often used for pathological processes in the musculoskeletal system. The procedures are carried out in a course, in a specially equipped doctor’s office. The advantage of this method lies in the possibility of its use during an exacerbation . Physiotherapeutic therapy includes:
Attention: Before carrying out physiotherapeutic procedures, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with contraindications and possible side effects.
Therapeutic exercise and professional massage are considered additional methods of complex treatment. These treatments have a limited area of effect. For some diseases, massage and physical exercise are strictly contraindicated . You can resort to such methods only with the permission of your doctor. Treatment will be effective in the following cases:
Caution: With the development of vascular diseases, vigorous activity and massage can lead to unpleasant consequences.
Surgical intervention is required in the most serious situations - for fractures, diseases of the vascular system, joint necrosis, etc. The operation can be planned or emergency. The second option is typical for emergency situations, in case of damage to the bones or tissues of the leg. Elective surgery can be performed in the presence of progressive osteochondrosis or osteoarthrosis.
The success of surgical treatment depends on the professionalism of the doctor and the timeliness of the patient seeking help. Most often, the operation is performed under general anesthesia. The recovery period takes place during an inpatient stay in a medical facility.
Experts do not approve of the use of folk remedies as treatment. But to eliminate painful sensations when it is impossible to see a doctor, they will be the best option.
The most popular remedy for pain relief is natural compresses. Herbal decoctions, yellow clay or lard can be used as ingredients.
The most effective in combating painful sensations are:
A gauze napkin is moistened in the broth and then applied to the sore spot for several hours. Herbal decoctions can be taken orally or infused in alcohol. The second option is great for rubbing.
Painful sensations in the legs are common. Ignoring them is highly discouraged. The legs are part of the body's support system. Their damage can significantly reduce a person’s quality of life.