Intermittent claudication is a medical term used to refer to severe pain that occurs in a patient while walking. Moreover, these pains are so intense that, as a rule, they provoke the patient to stop. At rest, pain gradually subsides. However, in especially neglected cases, the patient may experience discomfort during the rest period.
Contrary to popular belief, moving lameness is not an independent disease at all, but a symptom that accompanies some diseases of the vessels of the lower extremities.
So, intermittent claudication is one of the symptoms of diseases such as obliterating endarteritis and atherosclerosis. Both of these diseases are characterized by narrowing or closure of the lumen of the arteries due to the pathological process taking place on the walls of the vessels. These diseases pose a great danger to the patient, and the worst thing is that they can almost never be detected in the early stages, since all serious, alarming symptoms appear in the late stages.
It is precisely because of the difficulty in identifying these diseases that it is important to be able to recognize intermittent claudication at the earliest stages. First of all, you should know that most likely its development in men over the age of 30 years. In women, it also occurs, but less often and more in old age. However, smokers have the same risk of getting sick, regardless of gender. The likelihood of developing lameness in people suffering from obesity, diabetes mellitus and various lipid metabolism disorders is also high.
So, the main signs of intermittent claudication: fatigue, pain (more often - in the calves, less often - in the hips and buttocks) when walking, when lifting up the limb turns pale, when lowering, congestive hyperemia is observed . In especially severe cases, ulcers and gangrene below the affected artery may occur. In addition, nails, hair loss and muscle atrophy can change on the affected leg. It is also possible a feeling of cold in the affected limb, its numbness, impaired mobility.
In the presence of any of the above symptoms, laboratory tests are performed, according to the results of which the diagnosis is confirmed or refuted. The list of studies conducted in the laboratory includes measuring bleeding time, checking the level of cholesterol and plasma glucose.
There are four stages of intermittent claudication. There is no pain at the first - the only symptom is weakness or complete absence of a pulse on the affected limb. At the second stage, the occurrence of pain during physical exertion is noted. At the third stage, the patient is tormented by pain and at rest, and at the fourth stage the pain sensations reach their peak intensity and tissue necrosis begins on the feet and fingers.
If the patient is diagnosed with intermittent claudication, treatment should begin immediately. Indeed, due to a decrease in blood flow with oxygen to the limbs, tissue necrosis is possible, which entails the amputation of the affected limb.
Treatment of intermittent claudication is quite complicated and requires the active actions of the patient. Doctors can prescribe medication (antispasmodics, painkillers, vitamins), physiotherapy, in severe cases, surgery can be performed. All these procedures will certainly bring relief, but without working on the patient himself, the process can reverse.
During treatment (and after it), the patient must quit smoking, monitor the integrity of the skin of the legs and follow a diet that helps maintain the right level of sugar and cholesterol in the blood. Only under these conditions, intermittent claudication can be completely cured.