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Leg pain: Types, causes

Pain in any part of the leg is a common symptom of trauma or disease.

There are many causes of leg pain.

Traumatic causes include sports injuries. Other causes can relate to the blood vessels, nerves, muscles, joints, soft tissues, or bones.

The course of treatment depends on the cause of the leg pain.

Leg pain can often be treated at home, but if pain is sudden, severe, or persistent, or if there are other symptoms, medical attention may be necessary.

This article will look at some common causes of leg pain and some home treatments.

Fast facts about leg pain

Here are some key points about leg pain. More information is in the main article.

• The causes of leg pain can be musculoskeletal, neurological, or vascular.
• Shin splints and stress fractures can result from repetitive sports, such as running.
• Leg pain can sometimes indicate a serious vascular problems. These can occasionally be fatal, and they require medical intervention.
• Many types of pain can be treated at home, but severe or persistent pain can indicate a more serious condition.

• What is leg pain?

  
  

  
  

  Leg pain has many different causes and can be managed at home.
  Pain occurs when nerves respond to stimuli such as high levels of pressure, high or low temperatures, and chemicals, which can be released by tissue damage.
  Leg pain can be sharp, dull, numbing, tingling, burning, radiating, or aching.
  It can also be acute, meaning sudden and short term, or it can also be chronic and persistent. Severity can be rated on a scale from 1 to 10, or from mild to severe.
  Injury sustained during a sports game or in an accident is normally acute and traumatic. The person can often identify the cause.

• Causes

  Leg pain can mostly be classified as neurological, musculoskeletal, or vascular, or these can overlap.
  Musculoskeletal pain: Examples are crepitus, recognized by a popping or cracking sound in the knee, or arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects the joints in the hip, knee, or ankle. If a muscle, tendon, or ligament is strained, for example, during a fall, any pain will be musculoskeletal.
  Night cramps, compartment syndrome, and stress fractures are also musculoskeletal problems.
  Vascular pain: Causes include PAD, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), cellulitis, infections, varicose veins, and varicose eczema, where pain is accompanied by discoloration of the skin.
  Neurological pain: Conditions include restless legs syndrome, in which the legs twitch uncontrollably, neuropathy, or nerve damage, and sciatic nerve pain. Neurological pain can be present even when resting.