As people grow older, pain in the lower body and extremities becomes more common. Wear and tear, strenuous use, injuries, car accidents, and just aging, in general, can all contribute to leg pain. Leg pain can manifest in a number of ways. It can affect your thighs, shins, calves, ankles, feet, and knees. Leg pain makes everyday tasks like walking and standing more difficult and is discomforting. Although leg pain can range from mild cases to severe ones, even the mildest leg pain can lower the quality of life and make basic tasks more challenging and overall painful.
If you or someone you know is experiencing leg pain, you may be wondering what causes it, what the symptoms feel like, how it’s diagnosed, and treatment plans for leg pain. Can a chiropractor help with leg pain? In this article, we will answer all of these questions for you.
What are the causes of leg pain?
There are many causes of leg pain, each cause can vary in severity, and result in different symptoms and treatment options. The most common causes of leg pain are the following:
Car accidents. Car accidents can result in injuries ranging from broken bones to dislocation to bruising. If you were recently in a car accident and you’re experiencing leg pain, whether or not you felt it immediately after the accident or it gradually built after the fact, the trauma from the car accident may be causing your leg pain.
Cramps. Leg cramps are caused by the muscle in the leg tightening and feeling painful. Cramping can occur due to dehydration or lack of vitamins and minerals, like magnesium, potassium, sodium, B12, or calcium. Overusing your muscles during exercises or strenuous work can also result in muscle cramps and leg pain. Taking certain medications like statins and diuretics can also result in cramps.
Injuries. Injuries are another common cause of leg pain. Whether it’s from a car accident, a fall, or playing a sport, any injuries to the leg can result in leg pain. Common leg injuries include strains, fractures, and shin splints.
Tendonitis. Tendonitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the tendons, which connect the muscles and bones. The popliteus tendon is a tendon in the knee, which can be painful if inflamed, especially during downhill running.
Nerve damage. Nerve damage in the leg is more common for people with diabetes. It can cause numbness, pain, or tingling in the lower legs and feet.
Arthritis. Arthritis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the joints. It can cause pain, swelling, and redness and is common in the knees.
Peripheral artery disease. Peripheral artery disease (PAD), is caused by poor blood flow to the legs.
Infection. Infections of the bones, skin, or tissues in the leg can all result in leg pain.
What do the symptoms of leg pain feel like?
The symptoms of leg pain depend on the cause of leg pain and the severity of it. For example, if you had a car accident and broke your femur, the symptoms of leg pain are going to be intense shooting pain up and down the leg and an inability to move your broken leg. However, if you have a case of mild arthritis in your knee, then you may feel some mild discomfort or aching when you move the affected knee.
Common symptoms of leg pain include the following:
Swelling
Redness
Tingling
Numbness
Weakness
Pain in the knee, ankle, feet, upper, or lower leg
Reduced mobility and trouble using the leg
Increased pain in the leg when you try to use it
Soreness
Stiffness
There are many more symptoms of leg pain, each is different depending on the person and the specific condition/cause. If you are experiencing any leg pain, you should seek help from a professional like a doctor or chiropractor at Accident Care Chiropractic. If you can’t move your leg at all, are experiencing intense pain, or think you may have a broken bone, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Below are some specific symptoms of leg pain as related to their cause.
Sciatica. Sciatica is usually caused by a herniated disk. It is characterized by pain radiating pain along the sciatic nerve, which runs down the length of the leg. Symptoms of sciatica include pain running down your leg, starting at the base of the spine down the back of the leg, sharp pain, burning feeling, muscle weakness, numbness, and incontinence.
Lumbar herniated disk. This is a ruptured disk, or disc, in your lower back. Symptoms include increased pain when coughing, sneezing, or standing; back spasms, weakness in leg muscles, reduced ankle and knee reflexes, leg and foot numbness, and spinal cord compression.
Back pain. Back pain and leg pain can sometimes be connected and may be a warning sign of a more serious problem. Symptoms of back and leg pain include sore muscles, burning sensations, reduced mobility, and tingling.
Cramping. Cramping feels like your muscles are seizing up and tightening. It makes movement difficult and is usually uncomfortable and painful.
How is leg pain diagnosed?
The first step in diagnosing leg pain is figuring out where the pain is and how severe it is. Furthermore, you may be asked questions about when it happened and what might have caused it. For example, if you were recently in an accident, if you play sports or exercise a lot, or if you recently got injured.
The doctor or chiropractor will conduct a physical exam, and may include additional exams to determine the cause, like MRI scans, x-rays, and ultrasounds. Once the leg pain is diagnosed, then the medical professional or chiropractor can move on to treatment options.
What is the treatment for leg pain?
Just like symptoms of leg pain depend greatly on the cause of the condition, so does the treatment for leg pain. There are many different treatments for leg pain, each one being targeted at fixing the specific condition that is causing the problem to begin with. Medical treatments for leg pain include medication, physical therapy, rest, and surgery in severe cases.
Chiropractic treatment is always rooted in fixing the root cause of the issue without being invasive. Chiropractic treatment for leg pain may involve manual manipulation, and massage, along with recommended exercises and stretches to reduce pain and increase mobility.
Can a chiropractor help with leg pain?
Chiropractic methods, such as massage, physical therapy, exercise therapy, stretching therapy, and manipulation, are extremely effective at helping with leg pain, so a qualified chiropractor should be more than capable of effectively treating your leg pain.
Visit Accident Care Chiropractic for Leg Pain
At Accident Care Chiropractic we take all of our patients and their problems very seriously, and offer the best chiropractic services in the area. We have locations around Portland, Hillsboro, Salem, and Vancouver.
So if you’re experiencing leg pain, whether from a car accident, sports injury, or other reason, check out our website to schedule an appointment today!
