Cookies

We use cookies to tailor your experience

Set preferences

Are you worried about your Leg Pain?

VIDA
What causes Leg Pain?

Whether your pain is in both legs, a specific joint or localised area, your personal medical history, specific symptoms and the circumstances surrounding the onset will help to narrow down the root cause of the problem. The conditions that may help explain your pain are very varied, ranging from mild muscles cramps, which will be temporary, passing quickly often easily treated at home without any need for further medical treatments, to common sporting injuries to soft tissue like an ACL injury or torn meniscus or broken or dislocated bones. Some underlying conditions may build up slowly over time, like osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis is caused by the cartilage between the joint wearing down over time resulting in bone rubbing against bone, causing significant discomfort. Gout is another condition commonly affecting joints, regularly affecting the big toe, it can cause sudden and intense pain in joints, caused by a build-up of uric acid in your system leading to crystals forming in the joint. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol regularly, eating rich, fatty foods or being less active or overweight can increase your chances or developing gout. If you are concerned about the pain in your legs or cannot see any obvious reason for the onset of the pain, then it is a good idea to consult a doctor to investigate the underlying cause.

What can you do at home?

A common cause of leg pain is a strain or sprain to a tendon or muscle of the joint, it can be very uncomfortable and painful to experience, symptoms may make it very difficult for you to maintain your usual routine and may prevent you from doing certain activities completely while you recover. If you have experienced a sprain or strain then it is very important that you rest for a while, avoiding strenuous activities like exercising or heavy lifting, that may exacerbate your symptoms. If you feel the need, you can take pain killers to lessen the pain, like paracetamol or ibuprofen tablets or gels and treat the affected area with an ice pack to help reduce the blood flow and therefore the swelling. With leg injuries it is beneficial to reduce swelling further by elevating the injury, raising your leg, or propping your foot up on cushions. While putting something cold on the muscle may help, it is best to avoid using any heat packs, hot water bottles or warm baths as this will not help. It is ill-advised to treat a sprain by massaging the muscle as this could aggravate the area and cause an increased pain level. Unfortunately, it may take months for a strain or sprain to recover and return to normal but as your condition improves it is important to begin increasing your level of activity and gently and gradually reintroducing movement and putting weight back on to the knee as this will help prevent the knee joint from becoming too stiff through lack of use and encourage healing. Remember that while it may not always be possible to avoid muscle injuries, we can prevent them from happening by ensuring we always warm up by stretching before participating in any exercise or sports.

Leg Pain (2)
You should also seek further medical attention if you experience any of the following:

Mild or moderate sprains and strains that affect the muscles and soft tissue in your legs, while painful or uncomfortable, are unlikely to be a sign of serious illness or injury and should respond to treatments you can perform at home, such as rest, ice packs, compression support bandaging, pain relief medication and elevation. If you are worried about your symptoms, or you have noticed significant swelling, redness, sensitivity around the joint or currently have a fever you should book a consultation with a doctor to discuss the underlying cause of your discomfort. However, if you have recently been involved in an accident or suffered an injury because of exercise or playing sports, and the pain you are experiencing is intense or accompanied by any of the symptoms listed below then you may be suffering from a more serious injury, requiring urgent care, and should seek immediate medical attention.

 

  • If your leg appears deformed
  • If you heard a crack or loud popping noise that led to the onset of pain
  • If you are unable to put any weight on it
  • You are experiencing intense or severe pain
  • If the experience excessive swelling and the skin appears discoloured
Are you worried about your Leg Pain?

Here at VIDA we have expert clinicians on hand to help diagnose and treat your condition. To find out more about these services, we recommend visiting the following pages:

Book Today

Or Call Us On

0333 300 2979

Possible Causes and Related Conditions
  • Achilles tendinitis
  • Achilles tendon rupture
  • ACL injury (tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament in your knee)
  • Ankylosing spondylitis
  • Baker's cyst
  • Bone cancer
  • Broken leg
  • Bursitis (joint inflammation)
  • Chronic exertional compartment syndrome
  • Claudication
  • Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
  • Gout (arthritis related to excess uric acid)
  • Growing pains
  • Growth plate fractures
  • Hamstring injury
  • Herniated disk
  • Infection
  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (formerly known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)
  • Knee bursitis (inflammation of fluid-filled sacs in the knee joint)
  • Legg-Calve-Perthes disease
  • Meralgia paresthetica
  • Muscle cramp
  • Muscle strain
  • Osteoarthritis (disease causing the breakdown of joints)
  • Osteochondritis dissecans
  • Osteomyelitis (a bone infection)
  • Paget's disease of bone
  • Patellar tendinitis
  • Patellofemoral pain syndrome
  • Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Pseudogout
  • Psoriatic arthritis
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (inflammatory joint disease)
  • Sacroiliitis
  • Sciatica
  • Septic arthritis
  • Shin splints
  • Spinal stenosis
  • Sprains
  • Stress fractures
  • Tendinitis
  • Thrombophlebitis (a blood clot that usually occurs in the leg)
  • Torn meniscus
  • Varicose veins