What’s Causing Your Leg Pain
Cleveland Clinic: “Sciatica.”
Why Does My Body Ache?
Body aches are a common symptom of many health conditions, including illness and vitamin deficiency. If it lasts more than a few days, is severe, or occurs with other symptoms, it may indicate something more serious.
Body aches are a common symptom of many conditions. The flu is one of the most well-known conditions that can cause body aches. Aches can also be caused by your everyday life, especially if you stand, walk, or exercise for long periods of time.
You may just need rest and some treatment at home to relieve your body aches. But some aches, especially ones that last a long time, may mean that you have an underlying condition. In these cases, you may need to see a doctor for a diagnosis. They can create a long-term treatment plan to can relieve your aches and other associated symptoms.
Keep reading to learn more about what may be causing your symptoms.
When you’re stressed out, your immune system can’t control its response to inflammation as well. As a result, your body can’t fight off infections or sickness as well as it usually can. This can cause your body to ache as it becomes more susceptible to inflammation and infection throughout your body.
Part of the reason for these long wait times and short appointments is due to a nationwide shortage of physicians that is only getting worse. A report by the Association of American Medical Colleges predicts that, due to population growth and specifically growth of the elderly population, the physician shortfall in the U.S. could reach 121,300 by the year 2030.
Watch out for other symptoms of stress and anxiety, such as:
- abnormally high heart rate
- increased blood pressure
- hot flashes or cold sweats
- hyperventilating
- abnormal physical shaking
- headaches, such as tension headaches or migraines
If you think stress is causing your body aches, make small changes to your daily lifestyle to reduce your stress as much as possible. Try these steps:
- Meditate for a few minutes per day. Focus on your breathing and take your mind off the people or events causing you stress.
- Take a walk or leave a stressful environment to remove yourself from triggers.
- Share your feelings of stress with someone you trust to help articulate the cause of your stress.
- If you’re losing sleep over stress, try relaxation techniques before bed or take short naps throughout the day to refresh yourself.
Water is an essential ingredient for your body’s normal and healthy functioning. Without it, your body can’t properly perform many of its important processes, including breathing and digestion. When you become dehydrated and these processes don’t work well, you can feel physical pain as a result.
Other symptoms of dehydration include:
- dark urine
- dizziness or disorientation
- exhaustion
- extreme thirst
If you don’t drink enough water, especially on a hot or dry day, you can become dehydrated quickly. You should aim to drink about eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day, plus more if you’re physically active and sweating.
If you’re dehydrated because of a condition like diarrhea, drink plenty of water until the episode passes. Drinking water or beverages with extra electrolytes can help keep you hydrated and replace the electrolytes lost to diarrhea, too.
If you can’t keep water down, see your doctor right away or seek emergency medical help to make sure you don’t become severely dehydrated.
Not getting enough sleep can impact your overall health. You need at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night, including the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Your body’s tissues and cells need proper sleep to stay healthy, and your brain needs it to stay refreshed and alert. Without it, your body doesn’t have the time to rest and replenish essential energies and processes. This can lead to pain.
Other symptoms of sleep deprivation include:
- confusion or disorientation
- falling asleep during the day without realizing it
- trouble understanding when reading or listening to others
- trouble speaking properly
- trouble remembering things
Try to establish a consistent sleep schedule every night. Your body needs to follow a daily rhythm, or circadian rhythm, to stay healthy.
Try techniques to relax before bed, such as:
- drinking hot tea or other hot beverage
- meditating
- listening to music or a podcast
- having white noise in the room, such as from a fan
A cold and the flu are both viral infections that cause inflammation. These infections attack your body, and your immune system attempts to fight them off. Inflammation, especially in your throat, chest, and lungs, can be painful. The rest of your body might ache, too, as your body works hard to fight the infection.
Other common symptoms of a cold or flu include:
- sore throat
- hoarse voice
- sneezing or coughing
- thick, colored mucus
- headaches or earaches
Getting rest, drinking plenty of water, and gargling with warm salt water to ease your throat pain can help your body get over a cold or the flu quickly. Over-the-counter medications, such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) and ibuprofen (Advil), can help relieve your symptoms and aches.
If you have cold or flu symptoms for more than a few weeks, or if you can’t eat, drink, or breathe properly, see your doctor. They can help treat your infection.
Anemia happens when your body doesn’t have enough properly functioning red blood cells, so your body tissues can’t get enough oxygen. With anemia, many parts of your body can feel fatigued because they don’t get enough oxygen to remain healthy or to function properly.
Other symptoms of anemia include:
- exhaustion
- abnormal heart rate
- dizziness or disorientation
- head or chest pain
- cold feet or hands
- pale skin
Anemia has many causes. If you don’t have enough iron, folate, or vitamin B-12 in your system, taking a supplement for the deficiency may treat your anemia.
If supplements don’t help, see your doctor for an examination and possible diagnosis so that you can treat the underlying condition.
Hypocalcemia, or a low blood calcium level, can happen when you don’t have enough vitamin D in your body. Many of your body’s important organs, such as your kidneys and muscles, rely on calcium to work properly. Your bones also need calcium to stay healthy. Without enough vitamin D to help you absorb calcium, you can feel aching in these organs and in your bones.
Other symptoms include:
- body cramps
- muscle twitching or spasms
- dizziness or confusion
- numbness
- seizures
Mononucleosis is best known as mono, also called “the kissing disease.” It’s an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It’s very contagious, and one of the most common symptoms is body aches. Aches and fatigue may be caused in a generalized fashion or from inflammation and swelling blocking your airway.
Other symptoms include:
- extreme exhaustion
- swollen tonsils or lymph nodes
- rash
- sore throat
- fever
What’s Causing Your Leg Pain?
With this condition, your limbs — typically your legs — don’t get enough blood. It usually happens because your arteries have narrowed. Your legs may feel weak or numb or cramp when you walk. They might feel cold and be an odd color. Some people can manage PAD with habit changes, like quitting smoking. If that doesn’t work, your doctor might give you medicine to treat the problem or help with pain. But some people need surgery.
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
2/15
This is a blood clot in a vein, usually in your thigh or lower leg. It doesn’t always cause symptoms, but you might have pain, swelling in your leg, and it might be warm and red. Call your doctor right away if you notice any of these. DVT can lead to a serious condition called a pulmonary embolism — when the clot breaks off and goes to your lungs. Your doctor can give you medicine to keep clots from forming, growing, or breaking off.
Peripheral Neuropathy
3/15
This happens when there’s damage to the nerves in your body that relay messages to and from your brain. The most common cause is diabetes, but other health conditions, medicines, injuries, or infections can cause it. If it affects the nerves in your legs, they might feel prickly or tingly, or they might be numb or weak. Your doctor will treat the condition that’s causing it and give you medicine for pain if you need it.
Electrolyte Imbalance
4/15
Electrolytes are minerals like sodium, potassium, and calcium that help your muscles work the way they should. You lose some through sweat when you exercise, and if you lose too much, your legs can cramp or feel weak or numb. It can happen when you get some medical treatments, like chemotherapy, too. Sports drinks with electrolytes — or water along with foods that have those minerals — can help. See your doctor if you cramp up often.
Spinal Stenosis
5/15
This condition happens when the spaces within the bones in your spine get narrow. That puts pressure on the nerves in the area and can cause pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness in your legs. You also might have trouble with balance. See your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms. Medication can ease the pain, and physical therapy can help, too. If these don’t work, you might need surgery.
Sciatica
6/15
This is leg pain that comes from a pinched nerve in your lower spine. It can range from a bad cramp to a strong shooting pain that makes it hard to stand or even sit. You might feel it because of a slipped or herniated disk, a slipped vertebra, a spasm of your butt muscles, or spinal stenosis. Your doctor might recommend over-the-counter pain meds or physical therapy. If you have a more serious case, you might need surgery.
Arthritis
7/15
This is a common condition that affects your joints and causes pain, swelling, and stiffness. When it happens in your hips, knees, or ankles, it can be hard to walk or do other everyday activities. There’s no cure, but it can help to exercise and stay at a healthy weight. Heating pads or ice packs on the aching joints can ease pain and swelling. So can over-the-counter pain relievers.
Pulled Muscle
8/15
This is when a muscle gets stretched too far. It happens a lot to people who play sports. The pain is intense and starts right away, and the area is tender to the touch. The best treatment is to ice it with cold packs for 20 minutes at a time, several times a day. Outside of that, wrap the area lightly, keep it raised if you can, and rest it. Over-the-counter pain relievers can ease the ache.
Sprain
9/15
This injury happens when the tissue that connects a bone to a bone, called a ligament, is stretched or torn. Ankle sprains are common. The injured area swells and hurts, and you can’t put weight on it. The best way to treat it is the R.I.C.E. method — rest, ice (wrapped in a thin towel about 20 minutes a few times a day), compression (wrap it in a bandage), and elevation (prop it up). See your doctor so they can take an X-ray and check for broken bones.
Muscle Cramp
10/15
This is when a muscle, usually in your calf, suddenly gets tight. It can bring on a sharp pain, and you may feel a hard lump of muscle under your skin. Cramps tend to happen more as you age, and you’re also likely to have them if you’re out in hot weather and don’t drink enough water. Cramps usually go away on their own and aren’t typically a sign of any health issue, but talk with your doctor if you have them often.
Shin Splints
11/15
These happen when the muscles and tissues around your shinbone get inflamed, making the inner edge of the bone hurt. They’re common among people who run a lot. Flat feet, rigid arches, or the wrong shoes can lead to them, too. The best treatment is to rest your legs, put cold packs on them for 20 minutes several times a day, and take pain relievers if you need them. But see your doctor so they can make sure it’s nothing more serious.
Stress Fracture
12/15
If pain that feels like shin splints doesn’t get better, you may have a small crack in your shinbone. It happens when the muscles around the bone are overused and don’t cushion the impact of movement the way they should. Rest is the best treatment for a stress fracture, but it can take about 6 to 8 weeks to heal. Make sure it’s healed completely before you start exercising again so you don’t make the bone injury worse.
Tendinitis
13/15
Tendons are the flexible cords that connect muscles to bones. It can hurt a lot if they get inflamed, especially when you move that joint. This is called tendinitis, and it’s a wear-and-tear injury that can affect your hip, knee, or ankle. As with a sprain, the best way to treat it is the R.I.C.E. method. And see your doctor so they can rule out other issues. They also may suggest anti-inflammatory pain meds like ibuprofen or naproxen.
Varicose Veins
14/15
When veins have to work extra hard to get blood back to your heart, they bulge and look twisted, blue, or dark purple. They can make your legs feel heavy, burn, throb, or cramp. You’re more likely to have them as you age, or if you’re overweight, pregnant, or stand or sit for long stretches. Losing weight, exercising, or wearing compression stockings may help. If they don’t, talk with your doctor about other treatment options.
Burning Thigh Pain
15/15
Meralgia paresthetica is a nerve problem that causes painful burning, numbing, or tingling in your upper thigh. Your chances of having it are higher if you’re pregnant, overweight, wear tight clothes, or have surgical scar tissue in your groin area. You can ease the symptoms with over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. If the pain lasts more than 2 months, your doctor might recommend stronger prescription medicine.
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Mayo Clinic: “Diseases and Conditions: Claudication,” “Meralgia Paresthetica,” “Muscle Cramp,” “Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD),” “Spinal Stenosis,” “Varicose Veins: Self-Management.”
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: “What Is Deep Vein Thrombosis?”
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: “Peripheral Neuropathy Fact Sheet.”
Journal of Sports Sciences: “Recovery from prolonged exercise: restoration of water and electrolyte balance.”
UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center: “Electrolyte Imbalance.”
American Council on Exercise: “Electrolytes: Understanding Replacement Options.”
Cleveland Clinic: “Sciatica.”
Arthritis Foundation: “Inflammation and Stiffness: The Hallmarks of Arthritis,” “What Is Arthritis?”
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: “Burning Thigh Pain (Meralgia Paresthetica),” “OrthoInfo: Muscle Strains in the Thigh,” “Shin Splints,” “Stress Fractures.”
American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society: “How to Care for a Sprained Ankle.”
American College of Rheumatology: “Tendinitis (Bursitis).”
