Pain in the lower leg is an important symptom of circulatory disorders of the extremities

Blood circulation disorder is often accompanied by the appearance of pain. First of all, it arises in those cases when ischemia develops as a result of impaired blood circulation of the limb muscles, which is especially evident when walking, working the muscles. Pain in the lower leg with severe circulatory disturbances also occurs during the rest period. The pain that appears or worsens during walking is called intermittent claudication.

Intermittent claudication is the most important symptom of impaired peripheral circulation. During walking, there is pain in the lower leg. Pain appears at various intervals, the duration of which depends on the severity of the disease. Pain in the lower leg often extends to the entire lower limb, including the thigh and foot.

Pain in the lower leg during walking is accompanied by unpleasant sensations of tingling in the muscles, fatigue, numbness of the legs. The pain is often so strong that the patient has to stop while walking. Rest leads to a short-term cessation of pain. As soon as the patient starts walking again, the pain resumes. Pain intensification causes cold. To a certain extent, the severity of the disease can be assessed only on the basis of how many steps there is pain. Usually the first attack of pain after the onset of walking appears earlier than after its further resumption. Therefore, the patient gradually gets used to dosed walking.

In severe cases, the pain in the shin does not stop and at rest, it has a cramping character, is very intense and is especially painful in the prone position. This disturbs the general condition of the patient, develops insomnia. Such severe pains occur most often when as a result of severe tissue ischemia trophic ulcers and gangrene occur. In such cases, the pain in the shin is of a permanent nature, intensified in the warmth and weakened by hanging the legs down. Treatment in the case of gangrene development should be performed promptly, with excision of necrotic tissues and possible amputation of the limb site.

To the criteria of circulatory disorders in addition to the fact that the shin hurts, refers to the pallor of the skin , which is more pronounced when raising the leg. When the leg is hanging down, the skin acquires a cyanotic-red color. In different positions, the color of the limb varies from redness and blueness to pallor. When palpation is determined by the weakening or complete absence of pulsation of the posterior artery of the foot and the posterior peroneal artery. At the same time, the presence of pulsation does not exclude the possibility of narrowing these arteries, arteries of the fingers and even the possibility of gangrene development. Instrumental methods of investigation are used to detect circulatory disorders: arteriography, ultrasound examination of Doppler.

The cause of circulatory disorders of the lower limbs in the elderly is usually atherosclerosis. In young and middle-aged people, the main cause of tissue ischemia is an obliterating thromboangiitis called Vinivarter-Burger disease. Perhaps a combination of these diseases.

With atherosclerosis, the pain in the lower leg is accompanied by other symptoms of this disease. Patients with atherosclerosis often complain of constrictive pain in the heart, shortness of breath, headaches due to unstable blood pressure, memory impairment, sleep. With atherosclerosis, hypercholesterolemia occurs, often the symptoms of diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, elevated lipid levels in the blood, true hypertension, an increase in the abdominal aorta. About Buerger's disease is evidence of pronounced inflammatory phenomena in the arteries and veins.