Is this your symptom?
- Pain or swelling in the leg (hip to foot)
- Includes minor muscle strains from walking, activities or sports (overuse)
- If pain or swelling was caused by an injury, see Leg Injury care guide
Causes of Leg Pain
- Muscle Overuse(strained muscles). Leg pains are often from hard muscle work or sports. Examples are too much walking or running. This type of pain can last from hours up to 7 days.
- Muscle Cramps. Brief pains that last 1 to 15 minutes are often due to muscle cramps. These often occur in the calf or feet at night.
- Trapped Nerves. The nerves in the lower leg can become trapped or squeezed where they pass through narrow spaces as they leave the spine. Sciatica is from pressure on a nerve in the back. It causes tingling, weakness or pain in the leg which may go right down to the toes. If symptoms do not go away with rest or treatment, surgery may be needed to release the nerve.
- Viral Illness. Mild muscle aches in both legs also occur with many viral illnesses, such as flu.
- Shingles. The zoster virus can cause leg pain, making the skin painful before a rash (shingles rash) appears.
- Septic Arthritis (serious). This is a bacterial infection of a joint space. Main symptoms are fever and severe pain when you move the joint. You may not be able to move the joint at all. This needs care right away.
- Cellulitis (serious) is a skin and soft tissue infection, often caused by a small wound or a bite. The infection can spread quickly to a large area and can become life threatening (sepsis) if not treated quickly. The area will be painful and look red. You may also have a fever and red streaks running out from the area. Urgent treatment (often in hospital) is needed.
- Tendinitis is inflammation of tendons where they attach to the bone, caused by overuse. This causes tenderness in the area and pain when the limb is used. An example is Achilles tendinitis which causes pain at the back of the heel. Often needs a long period of rest from the activity that caused it. Physical therapy (PT) and/or a steroid shot may be needed to reduce the pain.
- Joint Inflammation. Examples are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout. Some, like gout, may affect just one joint. Others affect many joints at the same time. Osteoarthritis is due to wear and tear on the joints. It can cause pain, stiffness and loss of movement. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the same joint(s) on both sides of the body. Early treatment may help prevent long-term damage to the joints involved.
- More Serious Causes of Leg Pain:
- Heart Failure. If the heart is not pumping the blood around the body as it should, there can be swelling of the feet, ankles and legs. In severe cases, swelling can extend up the legs. There can also be fluid build-up in the lungs causing you to feel out of breath, tired and have a cough with pink frothy sputum.
- Clots in the Veins of the leg can cause pain and itching if they occur in veins near the surface of the skin. If clots occur in the deeper, bigger veins in the legs, it can be life-threatening. Pieces of the clot can break off and travel to the heart and lungs. If this happens, it can cause you to feel out of breath, have chest pain and cough up blood.
- Bone Cancer or Bone Infection(osteomyelitis).
- Fractures can happen during normal activity without there being an injury. Do not ignore ongoing leg pain.
- Blocked Artery. Arteries carry oxygen from your heart to the leg tissues. Symptoms of blockage are cold, pale, numb and/or painful leg. The blockage will need to be cleared as an emergency when this happens. Partial blockage can cause pain, often in the calf, when walking. The pain will usually go away when at rest but may need treatment before the artery becomes completely blocked.
Pain Scale
- Mild: you feel some pain, but it does not keep you from any normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
- Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
- Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.
When to Call for Leg Pain or Swelling
Call 911 Now
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Call 911 Now
- Not moving or too weak to stand
- You have pain in your back or abdomen as well as in your leg(s)
- You have any of these symptoms:
- lightheaded or dizzy
- chest pain
- very short of breath
- coughing up blood
- Leg is cold, pale and very painful
- You think you have a life-threatening emergency
Go to ER Now
- You can't put any weight at all on your leg
- Fever and swollen, painful joint
- You have sharp pain in your chest when you take a deep breath
- Loss of blood flow to any part of the leg (looks pale)
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- A joint (hip, knee, ankle) is red, warm to touch and painful
- Loss of feeling lasts more than 1 hour
- Severe pain
- Fever or chills; feeling hot or shivery
- You are being treated for cancer or have recently been in the hospital for surgery or other problem
- Bright red area on skin with lines tracking out from the area
- You feel weak or very sick
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Leg pain starts when you walk and goes away after a few minutes if you rest
- Can't move the hip, knee or ankle normally (limping)
- Swollen joint(s)
- You, or a family member, have a history of blood clots
- You are pregnant, gave birth in the past 6 weeks or take estrogen (for hormone replacement therapy or birth control)
- You have other health problems such as heart disease, chest problems, diabetes or you are more than 60 years old
- You have a cast that :
- is too tight or too loose
- feels uncomfortable
- has gotten wet
- Pain gets worse over several days
- Rash or area of blisters on the leg
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- You have diabetes and have a burning feeling or loss of feeling in your feet or legs
- Leg pain lasts more than 7 days
- Pain in the shins gets worse with exercise
- Increasing pain or swelling several days after a injury
- Leg pains or muscle cramps happen often
- Leg pain keeps you from work or other activities
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Caused by overuse
- Mild leg pain
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
