Leg Pain at Night

You must have spent many sleepless nights due to the extreme pain in your legs. There is no other more irritating and frustrating thing than to wake up at night, due to severe ache in legs. There are numerous problems which can lead to leg pain at night. There are many leg pain causes; some of them are severe and some of them are minor ones. Leg muscle cramps at night are a common cause of leg pain at night. Moreover, the leg cramps at night also have various causes. Let us discuss the causes followed by the treatment of the leg pain at night.

Causes of Leg Pain at Night
Here are some of the causes of leg pain at night.

Restless Leg Syndrome
Any person with the restless leg syndrome, always keeps his legs in motion. This motion of legs helps to ease the leg pain. This condition becomes noticeable during the rest hours at night. A very common cause of leg pain at night can be restless leg syndrome. The symptoms of the restless leg worsens in the night, causing severe leg pain at night. This often leads to insomnia. There are many causes of restless leg syndrome like obesity, pregnancy, iron deficiency anemia, smoking and hypothyroidism.

Charley Horse Problem
Charley horse problem is nothing but the nocturnal leg cramps. Many of you might have experienced the Charley horse problem, at least once in your lifetime. A muscular cramp in the night, usually in the calf region, can be due to dehydration, hormonal imbalance or deficiency of potassium and magnesium. In the second trimester of pregnancy, muscular cramps in legs at night can cause severe leg pain.

Diabetic Neuropathy
In diabetic neuropathy, the nerves in the legs get damaged and due to improper blood circulation to the legs, it causes leg pain at night, accompanied with numbness of hands and legs. Peripheral neuropathy is also known as diabetic neuropathy. Also, people with high blood pressure can also suffer from peripheral neuropathy. Read more on diabetic neuropathy treatment.

Deep Vein Thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is also one of the reasons of leg pain at night, preceded by muscular cramps. In deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot is embedded in one of the veins in legs. Deep vein thrombosis can cause inflammation in legs. Obesity, heart attack, recent childbirth, respiratory disorders and stroke are some of the causes of deep vein thrombosis.

Menstrual Cycle and Pregnancy
Many women have a complaint, 'legs ache during period'. The main reason behind this muscular cramps at night in women is the menstruation. This also happens sometimes during the second trimester of pregnancy.

Other Diseases and Disorders
Fibromyalgia is another disease, which causes severe pain in leg at night. Other diseases like Addison's disease and Parkinson's disease also cause leg pain at night. In addition, the overuse of the muscles of legs can cause burning leg pain at night. Alcoholism, dehydration, and hypothyroidism are some of the reasons for night cramps in legs, causing leg pain at night.

Sitting or standing for prolonged period or sitting in an uncomfortable position can cause leg pain at night. Sometimes, the chairs on which you work are not comfortable enough and cause leg pain at night.

Knee Pain at Night
There are many reasons for knee pain at night. They are as follows;

• Arthritis
• Cartilage injury
• Ligament injury
• Patellar tendonitis
• Baker's Cyst
• Plica Syndrome

These were some of the causes of knee pain at night. If there is severe knee pain at night, you must immediately consult the doctor.

Treatment for Leg Pain at Night
Here are some ways in which you can relieve the leg pain at night.

• Drink water and other fluids in ample amounts. Dehydration is the main cause of muscular cramps. So, keep yourself hydrated throughout the day, to prevent the cramps.
• Stretching after exercise is very important. Do not skip the stretching session after your workout. Avoid over exercising, this may cause overuse of your muscles, leading to leg pain at night.
• Have a healthy diet which is rich in potassium and calcium. Mineral deficiency is also a major cause of leg cramps and can be minimized by a proper diet.
• Lastly, do not diagnose your leg pain at night on your own; let the doctor do this for you. Consult a doctor, in case, you are suffering from leg pain at night.

These were the causes of leg pain at night. The treatment and medication for leg pain at night will depend on the cause of leg pain at night.