Definition
Leg pain can be constant or come and go. It may start suddenly or get worse over a period of time. It may affect your entire leg or only a specific area, such as your shin or your knee. Leg pain may be worse during certain times, such as during the night or first thing in the morning. Leg pain may worsen with activity and get better when resting. You may feel leg pain as stabbing, sharp, dull, aching or tingling.
Some leg pain is simply annoying. But more-severe leg pain can affect your ability to walk or to put weight on your leg.
Causes
Leg pain is a symptom with many possible causes. 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. Leg pain also can be caused by blood clots, varicose veins or poor blood flow.
Some common causes of leg pain include:
Arthritis
Gout
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis)
Pseudogout
Psoriatic arthritis
Reactive arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Blood flow problems
Claudication
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
Thrombophlebitis
Varicose veins
Bone conditions
Ankylosing spondylitis
Bone cancer
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease
Osteochondritis dissecans
Paget’s disease of bone
Infection
Cellulitis
Infection
Osteomyelitis
Septic arthritis
Injury
Achilles tendinitis
Achilles tendon rupture
ACL injury
Broken leg
Bursitis (A condition in which small sacs that cushion the bones, tendons and muscles near joints become inflamed.)
Chronic exertional compartment syndrome
Growth plate fractures
Hamstring injury
Knee bursitis
Muscle strains (An injury to a muscle or to tissue that connects muscles to bones, called a tendon.)
Patellar tendinitis
Patellofemoral pain syndrome
Shin splints
Sprains (Stretching or tearing of a tissue band called a ligament, which connects two bones together in a joint.)
Stress fractures (Tiny cracks in a bone.)
Tendinitis (A condition that happens when swelling called inflammation affects a tendon.)
Torn meniscus
Nerve problems
Herniated disk
Meralgia paresthetica
Peripheral neuropathy
Sciatica (Pain that travels along the path of a nerve that runs from the lower back down to each leg.)
Spinal stenosis
Muscle conditions
Dermatomyositis
Medicines, especially the cholesterol medicines known as statins
Myositis
Polymyositis
Other problems
Baker cyst
Growing pains
Muscle cramp
Night leg cramps
Restless legs syndrome
Low levels of certain vitamins, such as vitamin D
Too much or too little of electrolytes, such as calcium or potassium
