Often pains in the muscles of the legs appear due to strong physical exertion. However, there is nothing to worry about, as it is a natural reaction of the body. Going to a doctor is pointless. Legs after a while, as soon as a person rests, cease to hurt. However, there are cases in which discomfort appears for serious reasons. It is then necessary to consult a doctor.
What muscles hurt?
In order to find out the reason why the muscles of the legs hurt, you need to know which muscles are affected. For a correct diagnosis, the doctor should clearly indicate the place of discomfort.
Muscles are divided into 4 types. Some relate to the lower leg, others to the pelvis, to the thigh, and also to the foot. The main thing is to understand whether a person has muscle pain. Sometimes it can be confused with articular or with unpleasant sensations in the area of bones. It happens that it hurts all at once.
Symptomatology
If a person has pain in the muscles of the legs, then he feels specific sensations. Discomfort is present during rest and while walking. Extremities may swell, as well as inflammation.
With myositis, the problem is skeletal muscle. In this case, pain will appear even with the most minor loads. This pathology should be treated in any situation, because in the absence of therapy, the person will remain disabled.
Polymyositis is an inflammation of the skin and muscles of the striated type. Very often, this disease manifests itself with tumors.
Fibromyalgia is a pathology in which pain is felt most when palpating the muscles.
Causes
To understand what to do if the muscles of the legs hurt, the causes should be identified immediately. There are a lot of factors that provoke a lot of symptoms, you need to consider most of them.
Often, pain occurs during physical exertion. Especially if a person has untrained muscles. Long walking or running for him will be almost fatal. Many people think when they have sore leg muscles after training: what to do? It must be understood that unpleasant sensations appear due to the presence of lactic acid in excessive volumes in the tissues, because of the huge loads it does not have time to be eliminated. Therefore, a person has pain.
The only thing you need to advise is to make yourself a training plan so that the load is not excessive.
Movement problems
A fairly popular cause of pain is a stationary state during the day. For example, a patient has sedentary work or he flies somewhere on a plane for a long time. Due to this, blood stagnation occurs. Due to the fact that the pump does not work, plasma does not flow from the legs to the heart. Endotoxins accumulate, cells lack nutrients. Accordingly, the legs begin to swell and hurt very much. In order for the unpleasant sensation to pass, you just need to relax.
If you need to quickly get rid of discomfort, you can raise your legs to heart level. It should be noted that if a person works constantly in the same position, then varicose veins can occur. In order to prevent it, daily preventive measures should be taken.
Flatfoot and parasites
Very often, people who suffer from flat feet are faced with sore leg muscles. The reason for this is that due to a different shape of the foot, a huge load on the body occurs. Most often, pain extends to the knee. In order to prevent this, you need to wear special shoes or constantly engage in physical therapy.
In the human body live parasites that until a certain time do not manifest themselves. However, if their population begins to increase sharply, they can penetrate into any organs and cause harm. One of the common diseases is trichinosis. It is characterized by the fact that the larvae penetrate the muscles and directly affect them. A person has not only pain, but also an allergic reaction.
Additional reasons
Sometimes it seems that the leg muscles hurt for no reason. In this case, you need to pay attention to the condition of your nerves. They affect pain.
If a person has problems with the presence of calcium, magnesium, potassium in the body, and so on, then vascular diseases can occur. Sometimes a cramp is caused in the muscles, which affects the condition of a person. Most often in this case, pain in the calf muscle of the leg is manifested.
Unpleasant sensations can also appear with diseases of the spine. Due to the fact that the load on the legs of a person changes, then, accordingly, they are most affected. At the same time, it should be noted that often in such cases the spine does not bother.
When a person is overweight, the muscles can also hurt. If the patient has cellulite, then most often pain in the muscles of the legs appears.
Myositis
If myositis develops, then the muscles of the lower extremities become inflamed . This disease has severe symptoms. It arises due to the fact that a person suddenly has new strong loads in his life, which greatly affect the condition of his legs. Sometimes myositis has a parasitic origin. Treatment should be started immediately in order to prevent terrible consequences. Pain can intensify not only with active physical exertion, but also with rest. If you feel your muscles, you will notice the presence of seals. Redness also forms.
This disease is still purulent. It appears if, for example, a person has an open fracture of his leg and an infection gets into the tissue. Sometimes pain in the muscles of the legs can provoke compression of the skin and muscles. If a person is pressed by an object, then an unpleasant sensation arises. Especially often observed internal bleeding. At the same time, nerves are affected.
Prevention
In order to avoid the treatment of pain in the muscles of the legs, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures. It is necessary to completely eliminate fatty foods from your diet, especially if a person has problems with the cardiovascular system. Be sure to monitor your weight. It is advisable to do exercises in the morning or in the evening, which will strengthen the muscles of the legs. If a person has a sedentary lifestyle, it is best to go in for sports, go to the gym or just do exercises at home.
Therapy
If a person has muscle pain due to problems with the spine, then you just need to go for a special massage. In the event that the causes are more serious, you should consult a doctor. He will be able to choose the right technique and drugs. Self-medication is not worth it, as the condition is likely to worsen.
Sometimes it happens that surgery is prescribed. In order to prevent pain, you need to eat right, exercise, and also limit yourself from bad habits. It should often warm up at the workplace in order not to sit in the same position for several hours.
To get rid of muscle pain, shock wave therapy is used. This method is quite popular at the moment. It generates ultrasonic waves that enter the tissue and increase blood flow. Thanks to this method, swelling and inflammation can be removed. After several procedures, the muscles will stop hurting. In this case, the patient should not be placed in a hospital. Therapy lasts 7 sessions, each of them is 15 minutes. This method is considered painless, and it also has no side effects. If a person has tumors, or it is a pregnant woman, then this procedure should not be carried out.
In order to get rid of the pain, the doctor may administer an anesthetic. Analgesics are less commonly used, as a rule, they are prescribed in the form of tablets. Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Ibuprofen, may be used. If desired, you can use warming ointments that will improve the effect of treatment.
If the patient was hospitalized, then vitamins, especially B groups, are necessarily injected into him, since it is they who are responsible for the strength of the nerve tissues. Drugs are also being introduced that can reduce spasm of the leg muscles. Manual therapy helps a lot. Thanks to it, the muscles cease to contract strongly, they relax, so the pain subsides.
Alternative treatment
If a person has sore legs due to fatigue, it is necessary to slow down the pace of life at least for a couple of days. During this time, the muscles will recover. You can make compresses from mountain arnica. You need to use three tablespoons in one glass of water. It is necessary to moisten a napkin in this solution and wrap a leg. Fix it for a while with a bandage. The same tincture is allowed to add to the bathroom when bathing. Therefore, if the leg muscles hurt, what to do for a long time is not worth thinking. You must immediately carry out this procedure.
In the event that the pain appeared due to any disease, you can use butter and dry horsetail. You should combine two tablespoons of the first and 1 teaspoon of the second. It is necessary to mix thoroughly and anoint the sore spot. Next, it is desirable to wrap the leg with a plastic film and cover with a blanket. Such a compress should be kept for about an hour.
If your legs ache due to a cold, you can use tea, which is made from creeping thyme. You need to pour one teaspoon of grass. It should be brewed in a glass of boiling water. The infusion will be ready in just 30 minutes. To drink this broth is necessary two to three times a day.