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Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Depending upon the cause and the individual situation, symptoms of leg pain may have a wide range of presentation. The pain may be described in a variety of ways, including sharp, dull, heavy, aching, or burning. It may be constant or intermittent or made better or worse with activity or rest. There may be other associated symptoms, depending upon the cause.

Pain from muscles and joints often can be felt or palpated, meaning that touching the area reproduces the pain. However, the pain may radiate from its source to another location, sometimes confusing the patient and the care provider. For example, hip problems may initially present with knee pain; this is especially true in children and it is important to look at the hip whenever a child limps or complains of knee discomfort. With some injuries and arthritic conditions, pain gradually resolves as the muscle or joint warms up during activity, but other times, the pain may be made worse with use.

Patients who suffer from claudication develop pain with exercise, but as the blood vessels narrow over time, the amount of activity required to bring on the pain decreases. Also, this type of pain tends to resolve with rest. As the disease progresses, at some point, the patient may complain of pain at rest, not requiring exercise or activity to bring it on.

Those who have a blood clot causing ischemia (decreased oxygen supply to the tissues) tend to have an acute onset of pain that is intense and involves the whole extremity below the area of the arterial blockage. There may be associated numbness or paralysis. Sometimes the body is able to dissolve the clot on its own and as the blood supply is restored, the pain resolves. Most often, though, this is a true emergency that requires treatment to dissolve or remove the clot to prevent loss of the leg.

People with neuropathy tend to describe their pain as a burning sensation, while those who have sciatica describe intense sharp pain. Sciatica may also cause changes in sensation along the path of the inflamed nerve root.

Nighttime symptoms of pain and leg cramps may be associated with restless legs syndrome, a sleep disorder.

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