Overuse or Dehydration Muscles will cramp and ache if they have been overworked or injured during the day. You may find this feeling more noticeable at night when the muscles have been held in the same position for hours. Additionally, muscles will cramp at night if there's a salt imbalance.
Common causes of lower leg ache at night may include muscle cramps, muscle or tendon inflammation, bone fracture, blood clots (such as deep vein thrombosis [DVT]), varicose veins, peripheral artery disease (PAD), peripheral neuropathy, pregnancy, gout, and inflammatory arthritis.
Musculoskeletal pain
If you're experiencing cramps at night, this could be from restlessness and turning over in bed. This triggers the muscle causing it to cramp. Interestingly, they can also be caused by a lack of movement, specifically if you hold a position for a long period of time.
If you believe you have a blood clot, call your doctor or emergency services right away. Other conditions that can lead to leg pain at night include: Heart disease: conditions such as coronary artery disease, peripheral after disease or high blood pressure can cause leg pain.
What causes aching legs? Muscle cramps and strain play a part, but a number of health conditions may also result in leg pain, such as arthritis, gout, deep vein thrombosis, peripheral neuropathy, and sciatica.
Sore or aching legs can often be treated at home, but if pain is sudden, severe, or persistent, or if there are other symptoms, medical attention may be necessary.
Vascular pain often feels like an uncomfortable heaviness or throbbing sensation. It can also feel like an aching sensation. It usually affects your legs and can be worse with walking or exerting yourself.
Coronary artery disease signs and symptoms can include: Chest pain (angina). You may feel pressure or tightness in your chest. Some people say it feels like someone is standing on their chest.
Most leg pain results from wear and tear or overuse. It also can result from injuries or health conditions in joints, bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves or other soft tissues. Some types of leg pain can be traced to problems in your lower spine.
Pain in the legs can occur as a result of natural wear and tear, muscle overexertion, or an underlying medical condition. Older adults are more at risk of experiencing leg pain as they lose muscle mass with age.
Symptoms of poor circulation are often easy to spot. They include muscle cramping, constant foot pain, and pain and throbbing in the arms and legs. As well as fatigue, varicose veins, and digestive issues. Leg cramps while walking and wounds that don't seem to heal in your legs, feet, and toes are also symptoms.
Classic signs and symptoms of a heart attack include crushing, substernal chest pain, pain in your shoulders or arms, shortness of breath, and sweating.
This is because the deposits of fatty cholesterol can break off, causing a clot or blockage in the arteries to the heart or brain. What is less well known is that, high-cholesterol may also cause pain in the extremities including your legs.
Persistent or intermittent leg pain (claudication) or cramping when walking. Numbness or loss of sensation in the affected limb. Sores that heal slowly or fail to heal. Differences between limbs in relation to color and/or warmth.
The classic symptom of PAD is pain in the legs with physical activity, such as walking, that gets better after rest. However, up to 4 in 10 people with PAD have no leg pain. Symptoms of pain, aches, or cramps with walking (claudication) can happen in the buttock, hip, thigh, or calf.
You may have pain or a feeling of pins and needles in your leg or foot. In severe PAD, pain in your leg and foot when at rest is called critical limb ischemia. Sores or wounds on your toes, feet, or legs may appear, may heal slowly, or may not heal at all.
As the arteries harden, a substance called plaque builds up within the arterial walls, narrowing them. Left untreated, this can reduce or even stop blood flow to a limb, leading to tissue death and possibly amputation.
Signs and symptoms
People with poor circulation may notice their feet feel cold or numb. They may also notice discoloration. The feet may turn red, blue, purple, or white.
Doppler Ultrasound
Ultrasound may be used to determine which arteries are blocked. Often, angiography is used to find the specific location and pattern of any blockages. Angiography helps specifically identify the best way to correct aortoiliac disease.