People of different ages have pain in the legs. The aggravation of the problem occurs with age, when degenerative-dystrophic diseases occur. A common symptom is pain in the thigh muscles. But there are many reasons for this phenomenon, and the treatment in each case is individual.
How is the pain manifested?
With pain in the muscles of the hips there are other signs:
- Edema. It is localized both in the affected area and can spread to the nearest muscle tissue. The presence of edema indicates inflammation, vascular lesions or traumatic injury.
- Numbness from hip to knee. May appear due to strong muscle tension due to physical exertion. Sometimes there is a loss of sensitivity.
- Redness of a specific area of the thigh. Symptom may be evidence of inflammation in muscle tissue or exacerbation of thrombophlebitis of superficial veins. If redness spreads, it may be a sign of fasciitis.
- Muscle cramps. With leg cramps, a strong pain syndrome and a feeling of petrification of the legs appear. The occurrence of seizures can be associated with inappropriate physical exertion, lack of nutrients, dehydration, metabolic disorders and related diseases of the motor system. Muscle cramps occur during nervous breakdowns, and during emotional overstrain.
- The presence of a dense organic neoplasm in the tissues of the thigh muscles. May be evidence of the development of oncology.
- Fever. This symptom does not apply to pathologies of the nervous system, but can occur with any ailment associated with a painful syndrome in the thigh muscle.
The presence of a prolonged, acute, aching, or shooting pain can indicate a pathological process that can appear from many ailments. The causes of pain in the thigh muscles are presented below.
Diseases of the spinal column and nerves
The group includes many pathologies of the spinal column, which leads to pain radiating to the muscles of the legs. But the spine may not cause concern. The appearance of such radiating pains in the muscles of the thighs can be associated with inflammation of the sciatic nerve - sciatica, dysfunction of the intervertebral disc, radiculitis, neuralgic phenomena, neuritis. With nerve damage, pain intensifies during walking and other physical exertion.
Diseases of bone tissue, joints, ligaments
This is one of the common causes of pain in the thigh muscles. This category of diseases includes:
- arthrosis;
- arthritis;
- osteomyelitis;
- tendonitis;
- fasciitis;
- injuries and bone fractures;
- flat feet;
- neoplasm in bone tissue;
- other related ailments.
With flat feet, the support function of the legs is disturbed and pains occur in the feet, knees and hip. The nature of the pain is similar to pain with radiculitis.
Vascular lesions
Pain in the muscles of the thigh legs appears from a violation of the state of the vessels. With this phenomenon, persistent pain syndrome is observed. Vascular diseases include:
- varicose veins;
- arteriosclerosis of arteries;
- thrombophlebitis;
- endarteritis.
With thrombophlebitis, pulsating pains appear, and with atherosclerosis they compress. Each ailment has its own manifestations. Vascular pathologies often appear in older smokers with diabetes, hypertension, heart attack and stroke.
Muscle tissue
This category of ailments includes both muscle injuries and ruptures of the ligaments, and inflammation in the muscle tissues that are caused by autoimmune conditions. Myositis is considered a common muscle dysfunction. This is an inflammation that weakens the muscle tone of the limbs.
Sharp pains in the thigh muscles appear. If you do not start treatment of myositis in a timely manner, then the acute stage of the disease becomes chronic and the likelihood of a full recovery is excluded.
Metabolic disorder
Metabolic malfunctions adversely affect the functioning of many body systems, including the musculoskeletal system. With disorders of carbohydrate, mineral, fat, protein, endocrine or water-salt metabolism, diseases of the internal organs, chronic fatigue, muscle weakness, and pain appear. Excessive glycogen can cause pain in the muscles of the thighs, which can translate into severe damage to muscle fibers. This can happen in the absence of proper treatment of the disease in the initial stages of the manifestation of the disease.
Treatment
The causes of pain in the muscles of the hips and treatment are interrelated, so you must first consult a doctor for an examination. This is necessary for making the correct diagnosis. When systematic pain appears, treatment should be directed to the main ailment that leads to this symptom.
To stop the pain and improve the patient's condition, the method of symptomatic therapy is used, but it is important to consider that the treatment should be comprehensive. It is necessary to adjust therapeutic methods based on the characteristics of a person.
Diagnostics
To determine the causes of pain in the muscles of the buttocks and hips, diagnostic measures are needed. This is done by a traumatologist, surgeon, orthopedist or therapist. Since the painful manifestations of pain in the legs are the result of various ailments, studies must be carefully performed:
- Hip Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) The procedure allows you to obtain accurate data in a three-dimensional image of the affected part. This method does not cause discomfort and is indicated for pain in the muscles of the thigh of unknown origin.
- Dopplerography of the vessels of the legs. With the help of this event, the degree of narrowing of the vessels, the presence of plaques, blood clots and inflammations is determined. The study uses ultrasound, which is considered harmless to humans. The advantage of this method is the possibility of its frequent implementation, since there are no contraindications.
- Electromyography of the muscles of the legs (EMG). This diagnostic option identifies the causes of muscle weakness in the legs and the source of pain. EMG is performed by an electrical impulse, which has a stimulating effect on the peripheral nerve. After this, a special muscle fixes the response muscle reaction.
- General clinical and immunological analyzes. Blood biochemistry is a common and informative procedure. With its help, pathology, its severity and the nature of the appearance are revealed.
Medicines
Thigh muscle pain can be treated with medication. For pain in the femoral muscle, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants are prescribed to eliminate muscle cramps.
According to the studies, the doctor can prescribe decongestant medicines in the form of ointments, creams or tablets. When infection progresses, antibiotics are prescribed, and if vascular lesions are detected, anticoagulants are used that inhibit the process of blood clots.
Physiotherapy
With the appearance of pain in the hind muscles of the thigh or front, this non-drug method is also prescribed. Thanks to physiotherapy, the state of muscle tissue is restored without harm to health. The procedures eliminate pain during exacerbation, normalize blood supply to the muscles, preventing relapses. Physiotherapy is usually effective when medications do not help.
If the pain is systematic, myostimulation is used. This is a special gymnastics for muscles that relieves inflammation and pain. The principle of the effect of the procedure consists in the supply of electric current to the pathological process focus.
Magnetotherapy, which has an analgesic and antispasmodic property, has a noticeable effect. Using the magnetic field, muscle weakness in the legs disappears, blood circulation is restored, and metabolism is normalized. With this method, the pain is eliminated after the first procedure.
The use of massage and physiotherapy
Massage relieves congestion and discomfort in the thigh muscles, eliminates clamps and blocks in the legs. With the help of different techniques, muscle rehabilitation after sports injuries is accelerated, and with therapeutic exercises, excellent results are obtained.
Therapeutic exercises are developed by the attending physician based on the pathogenesis and characteristics of the course of the disease. To eliminate pain in the femoral muscle, a combination of exercise therapy methods is used, which consists of morning exercises, dosed walking, therapeutic swimming, and simulator exercises.
Operational impact
The surgical method is rarely chosen for muscle tissue, but there are pathologies in which surgery is the only method of getting rid of motor dysfunction. This applies to the elimination of vascular lesions, varicose veins, joint dysfunctions, fractures. Such interventions are usually performed on an emergency basis.
Particular attention should be paid to the occurrence of pain in the quadriceps muscle of the thigh, which is one of the large anatomical groups. This muscle is often injured, especially in athletes. The reason is overload of muscle tissue.
Treatment of bruises, sprains, partial ruptures of the quadriceps muscle is performed using the conservative method using anti-inflammatory and decongestants, with gels and ointments. An elastic bandage is sometimes applied to provide immobility in the affected area.
Soreness also appears in the biceps of the thigh, which appears when the body bends forward. In this situation, pain appears in the popliteal fossa and is given to the upper or lower limb. The biceps muscle performs hip extension and flexion of the lower leg in the knee joint. The pain appears due to subcutaneous tears or sprains of muscle tissue. Surgical treatment in this situation consists in stitching damaged areas in the gap area and applying plaster bandages or a longet.
Thus, muscle pain in the hips can be eliminated in many ways. For treatment to be effective, do not postpone a visit to a specialist. A correct diagnosis and timely treatment will restore the normal state of the thigh muscles.