Leg Aches

The legs provide support to the entire body weight when we are moving around on our feet. There are so many bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves that gives stability to the structure of the legs. When there is any injury or health condition that affects any of these structural components, then we experience leg ache. In some cases, the pain can be felt in just one leg and in others, it can be felt on both. Occasional leg pain is somewhat tolerable. However, when it becomes chronic and bother a person for a long period of time, then it is frustrating. It is even worse when the pain is accompanied by other symptoms like weakness, numbness, tingling, swelling, etc.

Leg Aches Causes

The causes behind leg ache could be both traumatic as well as non-traumatic. The characteristics of leg ache is different for every individual causes. A traumatic injury related pain is mostly localized to the site of injury only. On the other hand, when it is a symptom of an underlying health condition, then it can be felt in the entire leg. Different causes of leg aches are given below:

Traumatic Injury
A leg injury is quite common and most of us had it at least once if not more. One can sustain such injuries during sports activities, after a bad fall or car accidents. It may lead to fractured leg bones, strain or tear in the muscles, inflammation in the tendons and so on. In these cases, the pain starts soon after the injury. Some injuries occur because of overuse of legs. Shin splint is one such painful condition mostly found in runners where the shin bone located in the frontal part of the leg is injured because of excessive force exerted on them while running too fast for long hours. Overuse of leg muscles make them fatigue and painful spasm occur in them. It is also known as charley horse. Athletes get it as they are involved with running and jumping activities. Athletes often overuse their legs which makes the muscles fatigue and they get achy legs.

Nerve Damage
The nerves in the leg get damaged due to some underlying health condition such as diabetes, vitamin deficiency, smoking and excessive intake of alcohol. If the sciatic nerve gets trapped in the lower back region due to slip disc, then its pain get extended down to the back of the legs as well. Here, the pain is accompanied by numbness.

Varicose Veins
This condition is mainly responsible for leg aches during pregnancy. It happens when valves of veins in the legs are not working properly. The main function of the valves is to move the deoxygenated blood back to the heart. When the valves are not functioning normally, the blood remains inside the veins they become wide and enlarged. This gives a heavy, achy feeling in the legs.

Legg-Perths Disease
This causes severe leg pain in children who are in the age group of three to ten years. The exact cause behind this problem is not clearly known but due to this condition, It is characterized by lack of proper blood supply to the upper part of the thigh bone. As a result, growth of the thigh bone is stopped and the child experience pain in thigh and knee.

Other Causes
Chronic pain in the leg joints is often associated with arthritis that causes inflammation in these areas. It can be due to infection in leg bones or bone marrow also known as osteomyelitis. Circulation problems like deep vein thrombosis or formation of blood clots inside the deep veins and atherosclerosis caused due to blockage in the arteries, tumor growth, side effects of some medicines are few of the other causes of leg aches.

Treatment for Leg Aches

The exact cause behind leg aches is identified with the help of physical examination, medical history, blood tests, x-rays, imaging tests, etc. A few other factors like its accompanying symptoms, physical activities of the patient, timing of the pain are also taken into consideration. When the legs turn achy, then it should be rested as much as possible to alleviate the pain. Any minor injury to the soft tissues of the legs should be given ice treatment. Repeated ice application for 15 minutes after regular interval of time reduce pain and inflammation of the injury site. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug are administered for relieving the pain temporarily.

Along with these general treatments, some specialized treatments are required to eliminate the root cause of the leg pain. Fractured bones takes time to heal up. During this time, the injured leg should be kept in cast or bracing. Apart from rest and ice application, physical therapy is good for calf pain caused by Legg-Perths disease. Those who have diabetes should try to control fluctuation of blood sugar levels in order to get relief from burning pain in the legs. The condition of varicose veins improves if the legs are kept at an elevated position as it improves blood circulation. Use of compression bandage or support stocking are highly beneficial in this condition as it helps to move the blood accumulated in the veins. Deep vein thrombosis is treated with medicines like anticoagulants and blood thinners that can prevent formation of blood clots. Other circulatory problems are treated with suitable medicines that can improve blood flow to the legs.

Epsom salt bath and massaging are two of the most effective home remedies for leg aches particularly muscular cramps and other minor injuries. In a tub of warm bath water, add half cup of Epsom salt and soak your body for half an hour. This will have a soothing effect on sore leg muscles and arthritic joint pain. Massaging the strained leg muscles with mustard oil or coconut oil releases the tension from the muscle and provide relief from pain.

Leg aches can be prevented to a large extent by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes eating healthy foods, doing regular exercises and keeping a good body weight. Sometimes, children in their growing up years tend to get leg aches at night which is also known as growing pain. There is nothing to worry about it and it's a part of their growing process. Simple massaging the legs can provide them some relief.