Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMuscle CrampsMuscle StrainTendonitisShin SplintsBone FractureDeep Vein ThrombosisChronic Venous InsufficiencyPeripheral Artery DiseasePeripheral NeuropathyLumbosacral RadiculopathyWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Muscle Cramps
Muscle Strain
Tendonitis
Shin Splints
Bone Fracture
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Peripheral Artery Disease
Peripheral Neuropathy
Lumbosacral Radiculopathy
When to See a Provider
Lower leg pain can have various causes. Some of the diseases that may start with leg pain include tendonitis, diabetic neuropathy, and shin splints. Muscle cramps can also cause pain in the lower leg.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
Amuscle crampis a sensation you get when you have an involuntary (uncontrolled) muscle movement. The calf muscle is a common area for muscle cramps. This is often referred to as a “charley horse.”
Muscle cramps can be mild and feel like a tiny twitch. They can also be severe and intensely sharp or stabbing. In the lower leg, a muscle cramp can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Rarely, muscle soreness after a cramp may continue for days.
Causes
There are manycauses of muscle cramps. Leg muscles normally contract (move) when calcium channels in the muscle fiber cause it to shorten in response to nerve stimulation—such as when you move your leg.
Factors that may increase your risk of developing muscle cramps include:
Muscle tightness and fatigue can increase the likelihood of cramps.
Some health conditions may contribute to lower leg muscle cramps, including:
Pregnancy can also increase the chances of having muscle cramps in the lower leg.
Statinsare medications that lower your cholesterol. They may cause muscle cramps too.
Diagnosis and Treatment
During your physical examination, your doctor may detect a tender muscle or a small lump. This is generally enough to diagnose muscle cramps.
If there’s concern that you could have an underlying condition causing your muscle cramps, your healthcare provider may order blood or imaging tests. For example, you might have an electrolyte panel if you are at risk of dehydration or electrolyte imbalance.
Treatment for leg crampsoften involves:
Sometimes doctors recommend you takeoral magnesiumand/or calcium.
Getting adequate treatment for any underlying medical condition is also key to easing your muscle cramps.
A strain is a common cause of leg pain. It’s a muscle tear that often results from overstretching the muscle. Thegastrocnemius muscleof the calf is a common area for strains and tears.
Muscle strainsusually cause mild soreness. You may also experience cramping or a sharp, tearing sensation. This is especially true if the strain is sudden or severe.In addition to pain, swelling and bruising may also develop over the affected muscle.
Muscle strains may occur as a result of sudden trauma, such as a fall or a blow to the muscle.
A sudden change in direction, like when playing tennis or basketball, may also cause acalf muscle strain.
Overuse injuries involving the lower leg can also lead to muscle strains. Stressing a muscle again and again—for example, due to daily running—can cause damage.
A medical history and physical examination are generally enough to diagnose a muscle strain in the lower leg. Your healthcare provider may also order anX-rayto rule out a bone fracture, especially if the pain is so severe that your leg movement is impaired.
Doctors recommend the R.I.C.E protocol to treat a muscle strain.
4 Steps of the R.I.C.E. MethodRest the muscle.Apply iceto the painful area several times a day.Compress the muscle with anelastic bandage.Elevate the lower leg above the heart to reduce swelling.
4 Steps of the R.I.C.E. Method
Rest the muscle.Apply iceto the painful area several times a day.Compress the muscle with anelastic bandage.Elevate the lower leg above the heart to reduce swelling.
In addition, your healthcare provider may also recommend that you take anonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). This can help control inflammation and pain.
Physical therapymay help you ease back into activity after your muscle strain heals.
Tendonitisis inflammation surrounding a tendon, which is a strong, cord-like structure that anchors a muscle to a bone.
It is a common sports overuse injury, but it can affect anyone, regardless of activity level.
Common types of tendonitisthat would cause lower leg pain around the ankle area include:
Tendonitis causes pain that increases with movement of the affected tendon.
Other signs and symptoms may include:
A sudden feeling of pain and/or “pop” at the back of your calf or heel indicates a potential Achilles tendon tear or rupture. If this occurs, seek medical attention right away.
A fall or sudden increase in the intensity or frequency of physical activity may cause tiny tears in the fibers that make up a tendon. These tiny tears trigger swelling and irritation.
Other factors increase your chances of developing Achilles tendonitis, including:
Diagnosis of tendonitis usually involves a medical history and physical examination.
Your doctor may also order imaging tests, like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to help to confirm the diagnosis and determine the severity of the injury.
As with muscle strains, doctors recommend the R.I.C.E. protocol—rest, ice, compression, and elevation—for tendonitis.
Anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, and/ororthoticsare also often helpful. Orthotics are custom, prescription medical devices worn inside your shoes to help maintain a healthy foot position to promote healing and reduce the risk of a traumatic injury.
6 Common Reasons for Calf Pain While Walking—And How to Address Them
Shin splints, also known asmedial tibialstress syndrome, refers to inflammation of the:
The pain of shin splints may be sharp or dull. It’s felt along the inside and back part of the tibia where the tibialis anterior muscle attaches to the bone. Shin splints usually cause lower leg pain when running or during or after other types of physical activity.
Shin splints are common exercise-related injuries. They often affect runners and people who participate in sprinting or jumping sports.
Improper or worn-out footwear can also increase your chances of developing shin splints.
A medical history and physical examination are sufficient to diagnose shin splints.
Your healthcare provider may order imaging tests to rule out other conditions like:
Shin splints are extremely uncomfortable. But the good news is that you can follow simple steps to treat them.
Try the following measures:
In addition, your healthcare provider may recommend medications like NSAIDs to ease pain and reduce inflammation.
With proper management,shin splints resolvein around seven to nine weeks.
A stress fracture is a tiny break in a bone. It can affect any bone, but it is especially common in the lower leg.
The hallmark symptom of a stress fracture is localized, sharp pain that improves with rest.
Stress fractures are overuse injuries.Basically, the muscles surrounding the bone become fatigued from using them too much. They eventually transfer the stress onto the bone. This leads to a tiny break.
A risk factor for this type of fracture is sports that place repetitive stress on the leg. Sports that involve running and jumping, like gymnastics, basketball, and tennis, may cause stress fractures.
An X-ray is usually enough to diagnose a stress fracture in the lower leg.
However, sometimes it’s difficult for the doctor to see the fracture very well on an X-ray. Stress fractures may also not show up on an X-ray for several weeks.
In these cases, your healthcare provider may order a computed tomography (CT) scan or an MRI.
The main treatment for stress fractures is rest, usually for six to eight weeks. Doctors also recommend placing ice on the injury.
To control the acute pain of a stress fracture, you can also use:
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)is a serious and potentially life-threatening cause of leg pain. It is a blood clot in a vein in the lower leg, and it can travel to the lungs, causing apulmonary embolus.
In addition to cramping calf pain, other symptoms of a DVT in the lower leg include:
It may also come from an underlying health condition that makes the blood more likely to clot, such as cancer or pregnancy.
Immobility, long hospital stays, and obesity prevent venous blood from flowing properly. All of these factors increase your risk of developing a DVT.
Besides a careful medical history and physical examination, your healthcare provider can confirm the diagnosis of a DVT with an ultrasound.
Treatment of a DVT involves taking ananticoagulant, or blood-thinning medication. This helps prevent the current clot from getting bigger and prevents new clots from forming.
The veins of the legs are vessels that return blood back to the heart. The valves inside the veins help direct blood flow and control pressure.
If the valves are not working properly, blood can flow backward into the veins and collect in the legs.
Over time, this can lead to increased venous pressure. This condition is calledchronic venous insufficiency.
Some signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency include:
Increased pressure in the veins can damage the valves and interfere with blood flow. This can cause chronic venous insufficiency.
For example, standing too long, obesity, and pregnancy can place additional weight and pressure on the veins in the legs. This may ultimately result in valve damage.
A history of leg trauma can lead to chronic venous insufficiency. A clot within a vein may block blood flow and damage the valves. This may also lead to chronic venous insufficiency.
Diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency involves:
Treatment of venous insufficiency involves elevating the leg and wearing compression stockings.
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
With peripheral artery disease (PAD), one or more leg arteries become narrow. This interferes with blood flow to the leg.
PAD can cause lower leg pain when walking or engaging in other physical activities. The pain is generally cramp-like and occurs in the calf, thigh, or buttock. It feels better when you rest.
In addition to cramping pain, the affected limb can be cool, pale, and may have increased sensitivity to pain. In some cases, there may be pain in both legs from the knees down.
Other signs of PAD include:
Arterial narrowing occurs as a result of fatty deposit buildup within the artery’s walls. This condition is calledatherosclerosis.
Factors that increase a person’s chance of developing PAD include:
To confirm a diagnosis of PAD, your doctor will also perform a test called the ankle-brachial index (ABI). This test measures theblood pressureof your ankle.
Imaging tests, such as an ultrasound, may also be used to take a closer look at the blood vessels in your legs.
Treatment may involve lifestyle changes such as:
It also involves getting underlying medical conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, under control with medication.
In more severe cases,angioplastyis necessary. During this procedure, the doctor uses an inflated balloon to open the blockage inside the artery. They then place astent, which is a tube, into the artery to keep it open.
Bypass surgerymay also be considered. With this, the surgeon uses a graft to re-route blood flow from a blocked artery.
Peripheral neuropathyoccurs when the nerves in the limbs are damaged.
Symptoms
Peripheral neuropathy causes decreased sensation in the limbs, generally affecting the toes before it progresses to involve the feet and lower legs.
It can also cause hypersensitivity, pain at rest, and weakness. The diminished sensation increases the risk of wounds, and the wounds can get worse or may get infected if they aren’t well taken care of.
Peripheral neuropathy can occur as a result of uncontrolleddiabetes, chronic alcohol use, vitamin deficiency, systemic inflammatory diseases, and more.
A physical examination will generally show impaired sensation and diminished reflexes in the lower limbs. Hypersensitivity to touch can be part of this as well. Sometimes an EMG is used to confirm the diagnosis.
Controlling underlying factors, such as alcohol intake, diabetes, and nutrition can help prevent peripheral neuropathy from getting worse. Sometimes the pain of peripheral neuropathy is severe, and treatment can help alleviate the pain.
Medications that are sometimes used totreat peripheral neuropathyinclude:
Lumbosacralradiculopathyis often calledsciatica. It refers to compression or irritation of one or more of the nerves that travel from your lower spine to your leg.
Lumbosacral radiculopathy causes an electric or shock-like pain in the following places:
Other symptoms oflumbosacral radiculopathyinclude:
Spinal stenosisoccurs when the area around a person’s spinal cord is narrowed. This may also lead to nerve compression in the lower spine.
Less commonly, an infection or tumor may be the cause of lumbosacral radiculopathy.
In addition to a medical history and physical examination, your healthcare provider may order imaging tests such as an MRI or a CT scan to confirm lumbosacral radiculopathy and better understand its cause.
If imaging tests are not revealing, your healthcare provider may order anelectromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction study.
Treatment of lumbosacral radiculopathy often includes a combination of the following:
Surgery may be an option for people with persistent, disabling symptoms or those withcauda equina syndrome. This is a rare but very serious lumbar/sacral nerve condition that causes bladder, bowel, and/or sexual dysfunction.
When to See a Healthcare Provider About Lower Leg Pain
Lower leg pain can be a sign of a serious medical complication and is worth getting checked out. Tell your healthcare provider if you have lower leg pain along with any of the following:
Summary
Various medical conditions may cause leg pain. Visiting your doctor for a physical examination and imaging tests can help determine what’s causing it. Treatment will depend on the cause of your leg pain.
It’s important to avoid self-diagnosing your injury or medical condition. Only a doctor can determine whether your condition is something that is a simple muscle strain or a more serious condition.
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21 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Charley horse.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Muscle cramps.Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration.Effect of statin therapy on muscle symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of large-scale, randomised, double-blind trials.Lancet. 2022;400(10355):832-845. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01545-8American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.Michigan Medicine.Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (rice).Li HY, Hua YH.Achilles tendinopathy: current concepts about the basic science and clinical treatments.Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:6492597. doi:10.1155/2016/6492597American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Achilles tendinitis.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Shin splints.U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Shin splints – self care.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Stress fractures.U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Metatarsal stress fractures – aftercare.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is venous thromboembolism?Kurosawa Y, Nirengi S, Tabata I, Isaka T, Clark JF, Hamaoka T.Effects of prolonged sitting with or without elastic garments on limb volume, arterial blood flow, and muscle oxygenation.Med Sci Sports Exerc.2022;54(3):399-407. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000002822Stone J, Hangge P, Albadawi H, et al.Deep vein thrombosis: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and medical management.Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2017;7(Suppl 3):S276-S284. doi:10.21037/cdt.2017.09.01University of Pennsylvania: Penn Medicine.Chronic venous insufficiency.Spiridon M, Corduneanu D.Chronic venous insufficiency: a frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated pathology. Maedica (Buchar). 2017;12(1):59-61.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Peripheral arterial disease (PAD).National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Peripheral artery disease treatment.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Peripheral neuropathy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Sciatica.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Charley horse.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Muscle cramps.Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration.Effect of statin therapy on muscle symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of large-scale, randomised, double-blind trials.Lancet. 2022;400(10355):832-845. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01545-8American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.Michigan Medicine.Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (rice).Li HY, Hua YH.Achilles tendinopathy: current concepts about the basic science and clinical treatments.Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:6492597. doi:10.1155/2016/6492597American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Achilles tendinitis.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Shin splints.U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Shin splints – self care.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Stress fractures.U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Metatarsal stress fractures – aftercare.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is venous thromboembolism?Kurosawa Y, Nirengi S, Tabata I, Isaka T, Clark JF, Hamaoka T.Effects of prolonged sitting with or without elastic garments on limb volume, arterial blood flow, and muscle oxygenation.Med Sci Sports Exerc.2022;54(3):399-407. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000002822Stone J, Hangge P, Albadawi H, et al.Deep vein thrombosis: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and medical management.Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2017;7(Suppl 3):S276-S284. doi:10.21037/cdt.2017.09.01University of Pennsylvania: Penn Medicine.Chronic venous insufficiency.Spiridon M, Corduneanu D.Chronic venous insufficiency: a frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated pathology. Maedica (Buchar). 2017;12(1):59-61.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Peripheral arterial disease (PAD).National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Peripheral artery disease treatment.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Peripheral neuropathy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Sciatica.
U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Charley horse.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Muscle cramps.
Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration.Effect of statin therapy on muscle symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of large-scale, randomised, double-blind trials.Lancet. 2022;400(10355):832-845. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01545-8
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries.
Michigan Medicine.Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (rice).
Li HY, Hua YH.Achilles tendinopathy: current concepts about the basic science and clinical treatments.Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:6492597. doi:10.1155/2016/6492597
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Achilles tendinitis.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Shin splints.
U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Shin splints – self care.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Stress fractures.
U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Metatarsal stress fractures – aftercare.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What is venous thromboembolism?
Kurosawa Y, Nirengi S, Tabata I, Isaka T, Clark JF, Hamaoka T.Effects of prolonged sitting with or without elastic garments on limb volume, arterial blood flow, and muscle oxygenation.Med Sci Sports Exerc.2022;54(3):399-407. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000002822
Stone J, Hangge P, Albadawi H, et al.Deep vein thrombosis: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and medical management.Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2017;7(Suppl 3):S276-S284. doi:10.21037/cdt.2017.09.01
University of Pennsylvania: Penn Medicine.Chronic venous insufficiency.
Spiridon M, Corduneanu D.Chronic venous insufficiency: a frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated pathology. Maedica (Buchar). 2017;12(1):59-61.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Peripheral artery disease treatment.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Peripheral neuropathy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Sciatica.
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