- Pain, aches, and cramps in the legs
- Pain when resting your legs and feet
- Difficulty with walking
- Non-healing sores on the legs and feet
- Hair loss on the legs
- Weak pulse in the legs and feet
- Thin, brittle, or shiny skin
- Impotence
- Severely restricted mobility
If you have these symptoms, don’t wait to schedule an appointment with a doctor. Left untreated, these symptoms can progress to critical limb ischemia (CLI). Eventually, you could develop gangrene, need an amputation, or even have a fatal heart attack, stroke, or aneurysm.
{,}show_first{:}{|}tab_name{:}Chronic Venous Insufficiency{,}tab_content{:}Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) can be another culprit. It occurs when the blood in your legs is having trouble flowing back to your heart properly because the valves are weakened.
In people with CVI, the blood tends to pool in certain areas of the body – especially the legs. This puts pressure on the veins. And this, in turn, creates discoloration, fatigue, swelling, and discomfort in the legs and feet.
CVI has many of the same symptoms as PAD, like pain, difficulty walking, and feelings of heaviness in the legs. But CVI is especially common in women who have had multiple pregnancies and people middle-aged or older.
CVI is thought to affect up to 40% of the U.S. population, but many of those people have no idea they have it. They either have no symptoms yet or ignore the symptoms.
{,}show_first{:} )- Having diabetes
- Being a smoker or tobacco user
- Being overweight or obese
- Lack of physical activity
- Having high cholesterol or high blood pressure
- A family history of vascular/arterial disease
- Being over age 50
You can help prevent conditions that cause leg pain by doing the following:
- Doing aerobic exercise at least 30 minutes per day, five days per week
- Avoiding smoking
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Limiting alcohol consumption
- Monitoring cholesterol and blood pressure levels
Chronic Leg Pain – A Symptom of Vascular Disease
Each year, 11% of U.S. adults suffer with chronic, daily pain but only a fraction of them seek a doctor's diagnosis for it. Ignoring leg pain could be a grave mistake, because it could be an early symptom of vascular disease.
Any type of leg pain could be cause for concern. Leg pain can occur in the foot, ankle, knee, behind the knee, thigh, down the back of the leg, or in any part of the leg. The pain can range from a dull aching to an intense stabbing sensation.
Leg pain can occur in one or both legs. It can occur at night, while lying down, or while running or exercising, depending upon the cause. No matter when or where you feel leg pain, if the pain is chronic, you must see a doctor for a proper diagnosis.
What Conditions Could Be Causing Your Leg Pain?
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), also known as peripheral vascular disease (PVD), affects more than 18 million Americans but many are unaware that they have it. PAD occurs when there is plaque buildup in the walls of the peripheral arteries, which can restrict blood flow to your extremities and internal organs.
In PAD the veins and arteries that provide the body’s blood are becoming clogged and providing an insufficient blood supply. This can affect your body’s systems and organs, including the heart and brain.
For many people, pain and cramping in the legs are the first sign of PAD. You may notice pain while resting your feet on a footstool. You may feel leg cramps while sleeping. As you walk around, there might be a persistent dull ache in your legs.
The condition is often noticed in the legs because they provide a huge amount of pumping action for the blood supply in the body. When the legs’ circulation is restricted, a person may see or feel leg pain, tingling, numbness, coldness, color changes, and wounds.
People in the early stages of PVD often report that their legs feel heavy or weak. At night when they’re resting, their legs may experience a burning or aching sensation.
If your leg pain ceases when the activity ends, it’s known as intermittent claudication. Don’t assume that because the pain eases periodically, it’s not serious. It could still be an indication that there is a blockage of blood flow.
Common symptoms of PAD include:
- Pain, aches, and cramps in the legs
- Pain when resting your legs and feet
- Difficulty with walking
- Non-healing sores on the legs and feet
- Hair loss on the legs
- Weak pulse in the legs and feet
- Thin, brittle, or shiny skin
- Impotence
- Severely restricted mobility
If you have these symptoms, don’t wait to schedule an appointment with a doctor. Left untreated, these symptoms can progress to critical limb ischemia (CLI). Eventually, you could develop gangrene, need an amputation, or even have a fatal heart attack, stroke, or aneurysm.
Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) can be another culprit. It occurs when the blood in your legs is having trouble flowing back to your heart properly because the valves are weakened.
In people with CVI, the blood tends to pool in certain areas of the body – especially the legs. This puts pressure on the veins. And this, in turn, creates discoloration, fatigue, swelling, and discomfort in the legs and feet.
CVI has many of the same symptoms as PAD, like pain, difficulty walking, and feelings of heaviness in the legs. But CVI is especially common in women who have had multiple pregnancies and people middle-aged or older.
CVI is thought to affect up to 40% of the U.S. population, but many of those people have no idea they have it. They either have no symptoms yet or ignore the symptoms.
Certain risk factors increase the likelihood that you could develop PAD, CVI and other vascular conditions. These include:
- Having diabetes
- Being a smoker or tobacco user
- Being overweight or obese
- Lack of physical activity
- Having high cholesterol or high blood pressure
- A family history of vascular/arterial disease
- Being over age 50
You can help prevent conditions that cause leg pain by doing the following:
- Doing aerobic exercise at least 30 minutes per day, five days per week
- Avoiding smoking
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Limiting alcohol consumption
- Monitoring cholesterol and blood pressure levels
If You Have Chronic Leg Pain, Call Us Now
For good health and peace of mind, schedule a consultation with a vascular specialist to rule out PAD, CVI, and other conditions. At Maryland Vascular Specialists, we can help you get to the bottom of your leg pain and see what’s causing it.