Tennova Healthcare Offers Tips for Determining the Cause of Leg Pain
11/9/2016
Know the warning signs of peripheral vascular disease
KNOXVILLE, TN (November 10, 2016) – The pain in your leg you experience while walking may be the result of sore or tired muscles, but it could also be a symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a narrowing of one or more arteries that supply blood to the legs. Tennova Healthcare warns that PAD often goes undiagnosed since leg pain has many possible causes.
“If a buildup of plaque in the arteries creates a blockage to blood flow, muscles don’t receive enough blood during exercise,” said J. Randolph Reisser, M.D., a fellowship-trained vascular surgeon with Tennova Vascular and General Surgery – Turkey Creek. "The result is a cramping sensation called intermittent claudication. It’s the body’s way of warning that there isn’t sufficient blood flow to meet the muscles’ increased need during physical activity.”
For many people, PAD goes undiagnosed because they either have no symptoms or they mistake leg pain for something else, such as arthritis. Individuals with diabetes sometimes confuse PAD pain with neuropathy, a common diabetic symptom that causes a burning discomfort in the feet or thighs. As a result, people may fail to seek treatment for a long period of time—and that can be dangerous.
“It’s important not to ignore the possibility of PAD as the source of the pain,” Dr. Reisser said. “Untreated, the disease can lead to a greater risk of heart attack, stroke or even the loss of a leg.”
To help determine the cause of leg pain, start by considering the source. PAD leg pain occurs in the muscles, not the joints. Symptoms may include:
- Activity-driven pain: painful muscle cramping in the hips, thighs or calves that diminishes or stops a few minutes after walking, exercising or climbing stairs.
- Chronic leg pain: may present as leg pain that does not go away once you stop exercising.
- Non-healing wounds: foot or toe wounds that heal slowly, or not at all.
- Cold feet: noticeably lower temperature of the foot or lower leg, especially when compared to the other leg or the rest of the body.
- Nail and hair growth: poor or decreased hair growth or toenail development, on one or both legs.
- Erectile dysfunction: especially prominent in men with diabetes.
If you suspect leg pain might indicate PAD, make an appointment with your primary care physician or a vascular specialist. The physical examination will likely start with an ankle-brachial index (ABI) test, which compares the blood pressure in your feet to the blood pressure in your arms to establish how well blood is flowing to the lower body. The test only takes a couple minutes. If ABI results are abnormal, additional tests may be ordered.
“Medicines can be used to treat PAD, but the best method of preventing and managing the disease is moderate exercise,” Dr. Reisser said. “I encourage my patients to walk until the leg pain develops, rest for a few minutes, and then resume walking once the pain subsides. They should do this for at least 30 minutes each day. Over time, the distance the patient can walk without pain will increase. In cases of severe PAD, surgery may be recommended.”
For more information or a physician referral, call 1-855-TENNOVA (836-6682) or visit Tennova.com.
Tennova Healthcare offers surgical services at Physicians Regional Medical Center, Turkey Creek Medical Center, North Knoxville Medical Center, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Lakeway Regional Hospital, LaFollette Medical Center, Newport Medical Center, St. Mary’s Surgery Center and Tennova Surgery West. With approximately 200 surgical specialists at multiple locations across the region, the health system is dedicated to offering quality inpatient and outpatient surgical care—close to home.
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