The legs experience a lot of stress throughout a person’s life. Even in a sitting position, the legs are strained, not to mention walking or running. Therefore, such a phenomenon as pain in the legs overtakes in one form or another every second person. Sometimes they are short-term, quickly pass without health consequences. But, as a rule, pain sensations appear sharply and make a person run to a specialist or begin self-medication. The latter option is definitely not recommended, because the unexplained cause of leg pain, incorrect treatment can lead to a worsening of the condition. After all, only a doctor can correctly diagnose by conducting an examination and prescribing effective therapy. An important point is the timely appeal to a specialist.
A reasonable question arises: "Which doctor should I go if my legs hurt from the hip to the foot?" The first step is to visit a therapist, who will make an anamnesis and write out the direction to the necessary specialist. It can be a surgeon, an orthopedist or a vascular surgeon. It all depends on the nature of the pain and the symptoms identified. If you experience pain in the feet and legs while walking, it is difficult for you to take the first steps, you feel regular numbness of the legs, this is an occasion to go to the clinic.
With untimely treatment, pain that occurs only in the area of the knee joint acquires a total character and spreads throughout the lower limb. Such widespread pain from the hip to the foot can be a side effect of another disease, for example, cancer, pathologies in the spine or muscles, etc. The specialist will classify it and will be able to provide effective intervention (medication, and for advanced cases, surgical), therefore, in this In this case, the patient must be able to clearly and adequately be able to assess their pain.
In this article we will understand why the legs hurt from the hip to the foot. So let's get started.
Causes and symptoms
There are a number of diseases that can provoke pain in the legs from the thigh to the very foot. They have different symptoms, sometimes similar, and sometimes radically different depending on the pathology. Below we will consider in detail the main and most common variants of diseases that cause a condition in which the left leg hurts from the hip to the foot or the right.
Venous hyperemia
This is a pathology associated with excessive blood volume in the veins, which can be caused by a clot in blood clots. Blood does not have the ability to flow back, which leads to redness of the skin. If the disease is caused by a different pathology, then this condition can last up to several days and definitely requires the intervention of a specialist. The most likely cause of the disease is a prolonged uncomfortable leg. At the same time, the leg swells, turns blue, becomes colder than other parts of the body, severe pain and discomfort appear. The consequence may be atrophy of the limb. In addition, such a global violation of blood flow leads to thrombophlebitis, thromboembolism and thrombosis. If you do not take action, tissue necrosis and gangrene will come. How does this threaten when the right leg hurts from hip to foot? About it below.
Most often, venous hyperemia occurs as a result of varicose veins, which is also the cause of leg pain. Varicose veins are thinning of the walls of the veins, the formation of nodes due to their expansion and elongation. Every third woman and every tenth man in the world suffers from this type of pathology.
The causes of varicose veins, when the legs hurt from the thigh to the foot, are high physical exertion or their complete absence, rapid weight gain, genetic predisposition and hormonal imbalance. Less common causes include stress, overwork, uncomfortable shoes. A characteristic feature of varicose veins is the appearance of spider veins on the legs.
Arthrosis
A disease accompanied by thinning and atrophy of cartilage in the joint. The percentage of pathology is especially high among older and older people. Arthrosis appears as a result of pathology in the metabolism of the joint, leading to a loss of cartilage elasticity. Specialists call the causes of arthrosis hormonal disruptions, metabolic disorders, genetics, disruptions in blood flow, old age, the presence of rheumatoid arthritis, etc. But the inadequate joint load is considered the most common prerequisite for arthrosis. All this accompanies aching leg pain from hip to foot.
Overweight, injuries, acute purulent arthritis, malnutrition, intoxication and frequent colds can also cause arthrosis. There is a high risk of developing arthrosis in people of certain professions, such as a miner, a fisherman, a mason.
The disease is accompanied by inflammation of the joints, which are characteristic of a crunch due to erasure of the cartilage. Arthrosis can lead to irreversible destruction of the joint and further disability. And if the right leg hurts - from hip to foot?
Atherosclerosis
Chronic pathology of blood vessels associated with the formation of cholesterol plaques and plaques, while the vascular walls are affected, they lose their elasticity. Over time, the vessels become denser and narrower, disrupting blood circulation. Atherosclerosis is considered a very dangerous disease, as it is recognized only in the later stages and can cause ischemia and heart attack. With age, the percentage of morbidity increases, so experts call atherosclerosis an aging disease. This disease is most widespread in developed countries, since the nutrition of most of the population is not correct due to the modern urban rhythm of life.
Symptoms of atherosclerosis are chills in the extremities, "leakage" of the legs, as with a long stay in the same position, pallor of the skin with a clear vascular pattern. The late stages of atherosclerosis are characterized by pain localized in the hips, buttocks and calves, which leads to lameness, tissue degeneration, the formation of ulcers and wounds, redness of the fingers and necrosis.
What does it mean when a leg and tingling in the thigh and foot hurts?
Tunnel fascial syndrome
The most common disease in compression neuropathies. Appears as a result of the destruction of cartilage in the vertebral joints. It causes tissue compression in the inguinal ligament, which leads to pain in the inner thigh and groin, lameness, manifested during physical exertion, leg cramps at night.
Lack of treatment can lead to muscle dystrophy. There are several varieties of tunnel syndrome, depending on the location of the pain. In Roth's disease, the outer surface of the thigh suffers, and in piriformis syndrome, soreness appears in the foot and ankle. Most often, tunnel-fascial syndrome overtakes people whose profession involves multiple bending and extension of the legs.
It happens that the left leg hurts from the hip to the foot.
Osteochondrosis
It is a consequence of degenerative processes in the intervertebral discs and directly vertebrae, which leads to the destruction of cartilage and connective tissue. As a result, the intervertebral space is reduced and displacement occurs. The causes of the disease can be infections, injuries, flat feet, genetics, intoxication, aging and working conditions.
At the initial stage, osteochondrosis proceeds latently, therefore, treatment is problematic. Gradually, pulling pains arise from the hip to the foot.
Osteochondrosis can be localized in any part of the leg where articular cartilage is present. The main sign of the disease is fatigue of the lower extremities. Due to the elderly patients, this symptom, as a rule, is ignored at the initial stage, people resort to the help of a specialist only when the disease flows into an acute form. Other symptoms of osteochondrosis include pain in the hip, knee and calf muscles, cramps, numbness of the legs, redness of the affected joint, aggravation or relief of the sensitivity of the legs. Pain syndrome usually appears during exercise or immediately after it.
For what reason can severe pain from hip to foot occur?
Intervertebral hernia
This is one of the side effects that accompany osteochondrosis. With a hernia, the intervertebral disc protrudes between the vertebrae, pressing on the root of the nerve in the spinal canal. Also causes discomfort in the buttocks and lower back. But more often the legs hurt from the hip to the foot.
In addition to osteochondrosis, the causes of the intervertebral hernia are: spinal injuries, overweight, high physical exertion or, on the contrary, a sedentary lifestyle, poor posture, etc.
Tenoperiostopathy
The inflammatory process at the junction of bones and tendons. Pain from hip to foot only bothers while moving your legs. The causes of occurrence can be considered physical overload, age, uncomfortable shoes, infections (acute or chronic), flat feet, etc.
Injuries
Bruised legs are the most common lesions in the lower extremities. They are independent and combined. The intensity and extent of damage depends on the location of the bruise.
Fractures are also not inferior to bruises in prevalence. They are open and closed, with or without displacement, probable (soreness during movement, swelling) and reliable (unnatural limb position, crunch).
Stretching occurs when running, walking at a fast pace, playing sports, etc. The muscles are constantly tense, aching pain from the thigh to the foot, swelling is observed.
Ligament rupture can be either insignificant or leading to complete muscle separation. Occurs with a sharp bending of the legs at the start or stop when running. Ligament rupture is accompanied by pain, hematoma and muscle spasm.
Crash syndrome - prolonged (more than 8 hours) squeezing of leg tissue with debris (for example, when buildings are destroyed). It occurs as a result of accidents, accompanied by swelling of the muscles.
Thrombophlebitis
Many complain that their legs hurt from hips to feet at night.
This can mean inflammation of the walls of the veins and the appearance of a blood clot. There are thrombophlebitis of superficial and deep veins. The latter option is the most dangerous, since a blood clot can come off and enter the pulmonary artery, which will lead to death. Thrombophlebitis is accompanied by pulling pains in the leg, fever, and flushing of the skin. The leg may swell at the site of the formation of a blood clot, the skin turns blue, the veins expand and are clearly felt by palpation.
Erysipelas
An infectious disease caused by streptococci. It is manifested by chills, weakness, headache and muscle pain, sometimes nausea and vomiting, fever and palpitations. Redness appears on the skin with clear boundaries, hot to the touch and painful.
Metabolic disorder
If there is a violation of the water-salt balance, hip pain and numbness of the foot can also occur. This happens with dehydration caused by infection or poisoning, and it can also speak of diabetes.
Panniculitis is a pathology of fatty tissue. It is inflammatory in nature and leads to the destruction of fat cells and their replacement with other tissues. As a result, nodules and plaques form. Under the skin, at the same time, seals appear at different depths.
Sciatica
This is not one disease, but a combination of pathologies resulting from pressure on the sciatic nerve. Pain occurs throughout the back as well as in the legs, since the sciatic nerve is the longest and thickest in the human body. Sciatica occurs where the nerve ending of the sciatic nerve is irritated or pinched. Factors causing sciatica are pregnancy, hernias in the intervertebral space, osteochondrosis, diabetes, thrombosis, etc.
Symptoms of sciatica are pain of varying intensity in the back of the thigh to the foot, high muscle tone of the back, discomfort, lameness, urinary incontinence, cramps and numbness.
In addition to diseases, there are a number of factors that can lead to pain in the lower extremities, and they are not directly related to the legs. Smoking, sciatica, impaired metabolism and anorexia can cause pain. Elderly survivors of amputation are most often affected by phantom pain. This phenomenon has not been fully studied, therefore, it is not possible to rid a person of these pains. If we talk about young people, then the pain in the legs in this case is due to high physical activity, contraception (which is a side effect of varicose veins), bad habits (alcohol and smoking), or pregnancy. The latter gives a large load on the legs and spine, as the weight increases sharply. During pregnancy, the risk of varicose veins and blood clots increases.
How to identify the pathology from which the legs hurt from the hip to the foot?
Diagnosis and treatment
Before taking tests, it is necessary to visit a number of specialists, namely a general practitioner, general practitioner, traumatologist (to exclude the connection of pain with previous injuries), surgeon (checking the state of blood vessels), rheumatologist (analysis of joint disorders), phlebologist (ultrasound vein), neurologist (with convulsions and numbness), sometimes an oncologist (with suspected malignant tumor).
At the initial stage of diagnosing pain in the leg from the hip to the foot, the patient is assigned a series of clinical tests. The further sequence of actions for making the correct diagnosis and prescribing the correct therapy will depend on the results. There are a lot of studies to determine the cause of leg pain:
- General blood test (special attention is paid to leukocyte and red blood cell counts for the detection of infectious inflammatory diseases).
- Analysis of water-electrolyte pathologies (urea, electrolytes, creatinine).
- Blood glucose, indicating the possible presence of diabetes.
- A blood test for biochemistry (uric acid and cholesterol levels).
- Microbiological studies (scraping for chlamydia).
- X-ray examination.
- Oncomarkers (if a tumor is suspected).
- Research on a rheumatoid factor (serological analysis).
- If tuberculosis or osteomyelitis is suspected, a bone biopsy is taken.
- Duplex scanning (vascular examination).
- Angiography of blood vessels (in the diagnosis of atherosclerosis).
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography).
- Rheovasography (examination of the arteries of the legs).
- Skeletal scintigraphy (indicated for suspected metastasis).
- LID (ankle pressure index) shows narrowing in the arteries.
Since leg pain is often only a symptom, and not the root cause, treatment depends on the characteristics of the course of the disease on the basis of a survey conducted as directed by a specialist. For example, varicose veins of the first stages does not require treatment in a hospital. However, in case of varicose veins of the saphenous veins, as well as in complicated atherosclerosis and acute intervertebral hernia, urgent hospitalization and surgical intervention are necessary. Thus, to exclude a painful symptom in the legs, it is necessary to cure the disease itself that caused them. We found out why the legs hurt from the hip to the foot.
Recommendations
The main recommendations for all patients are:
- Compliance with a special diet. In particular, with vascular pathologies, it is necessary to significantly reduce the amount of fatty and cholesterol-rich foods.
- Weight Loss. At the same time, not only observing the correct diet, but also applying a small physical load. To do this, there are many gentle sets of exercises that strengthen the muscles of the back and pelvis. With varicose veins, there are also sets of exercises, for example: flexion and extension of the leg in the knee, the movement of the feet in a circle, sideways turns, flexion and extension of the toes.
- It is necessary to regularly change the modes of activity throughout the day, avoiding being in a constant position for a long time. Therefore, in the office you can do some exercises, for example, roll from heel to toe or walk in place, raising your knees high.
- Regular exercise to strengthen the muscles of the abdomen relieves tension from the spine, which reduces the risk of pain in the lower back and legs.
It is important to know that if a leg hurts from hip to foot, treatment should be timely.
Orthopedists to relieve tension from the back and legs recommend that after a working day lie down with your legs up, take a bath, do foot massage and wear only comfortable shoes. In the treatment of varicose veins, muscle relaxants are usually prescribed to relieve muscle tension. In order to improve blood circulation in case of vascular problems, special medications are prescribed. In complex therapy, vitamin complexes are often prescribed.
Manual and physiotherapy, as well as therapeutic exercises and special types of yoga, help to get rid of the pain syndrome. In any case, both preventive and therapeutic measures should be taken only after meeting with a specialist. After all, self-medication is life-threatening, as well as the use of traditional medicine techniques.
Eight out of ten people consider leg pain the norm, admitting that they have experienced them at least once in their lives. Many complain of pain in the calves or heels, while not considering it necessary to seek qualified help. This is especially true of the elderly, who tend to attribute all pain in the legs to age-related changes. But in time, the measures taken will help to avoid many problems in the future. Therefore, the main thing is to listen to your body and pay attention to the signals given to them, not to ignore them. The proverb “wolf feed the legs” takes on a completely different meaning when it comes to the likelihood of losing these legs due to illness. In any case, it makes sense to monitor your back and legs and take preventive measures to avoid problems.