Walking and Running Pains You Shouldn’t Ignore
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It’s normal to have a little bit of pain after exercise. You may feel sore after a good run. But when should you worry?
Here are a few walking and running symptoms that you should never ignore.
Aches and Pains and What they Could Mean
You may have tendonitis or bursitis. Tendonitis is an inflammation or irritation of the tendon in the knee while Bursitis is an inflammation of the small fluid-filled sacs called bursa near your joints. You may develop these two conditions because of overuse, injury or frequent and sustained pressure. Heavy-set individuals have a higher tendency to develop these conditions because of the strain on their tendons and bursa. They may also result from a viral infection or from an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis.
What to do if you have pain in your knees.
Try to stay off your legs and rest your knees for a while. If the pain is severe or it persists for more than a few days, visit your doctor to get diagnosed and treated. Your doctor may require imaging tests like x-rays, ultrasound or an MRI and they may prescribe pain medications, physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, or surgery to relieve pain.
You could have Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) or if you’re older, Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).
Chronic Venous Insufficiency occurs when the veins of the legs don’t carry blood back to the heart properly. When the valves of the veins don’t work, blood can flow backwards or reflux and collect in your legs causing pain, skin discoloration, cramps, bulging varicose veins, or leg ulcers. Other symptoms include your legs feeling heavy after walking or running and you may also have an uncomfortable sensation in your legs similar to restless leg syndrome.
You have a high risk of developing CVI if you are overweight, pregnant, have a family history or if you’ve suffered injury, had surgery or had blood clots in your leg.
Peripheral Arterial Disease is a condition of the arteries. This happens when accumulated fatty deposits narrow your arteries causing reduced blood flow to your limbs. PAD sufferers sometimes have the same symptoms as CVI patients do. Symptoms like leg pain while walking (called claudication), leg skin color changes, cramping, sores that don’t heal easily, coldness in your leg or feet as well as cramps. If PAD progresses untreated, leg pain may be felt even at rest. Other symptoms include numbness or tingling and slow growing toenails.
You are at risk for developing PAD is you’re over 60, have a history of diabetes and you smoke. If you are under 50, you have a higher risk for developing PAD if you are overweight, have diabetes or have high blood pressure.
What to do if you have leg pain while walking or running that stops at rest or some of the symptoms described above.
If you have these symptoms, seek medical advice from a doctor or vascular surgeon. Your doctor may require imaging tests such as a Duplex ultrasound to check the blood flow of both veins and arteries to properly diagnose you.
IMPORTANT! If your legs have pain, swelling, tenderness and redness over the part affected, and the affected area feels warm to the touch, you may have Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT. A DVT happens when a clot forms in the deep veins of your legs. This is a serious medical issue that needs urgent emergency care because the clot can potentially break free and travel to your lungs causing a pulmonary embolism. It’s important to note that DVT may have similar symptoms to other diseases.
Sciatica occurs when a herniated disk presses on a nerve root. It can also occur during disc degeneration and the adjacent nerve becomes irritated. There are many other causes of sciatica. However, it’s important to note that sciatica is a symptom of an underlying condition (it could be herniated disk). Sciatica typically affects one side of the body. The pain can vary mild ache to severe pain. The pain can sometimes feel like an electric shock and you may have leg numbness or muscle weakness.
You may be prone to developing sciatica if you are obese, sit for prolonged periods, have diabetes or have a job that requires carrying heavy loads.
What to do if you have sciatica pain.
Mild sciatica goes away on its own but if your pain lasts longer than a week or becomes excruciating, get immediate care. Your doctor may request an MRI, a CT scan or an Electromyogram (EMG) Test and Nerve Conduction Study (NCS) to diagnose the underlying condition causing sciatica pain.
You could have Plantar Fasciitis. It’s very common and anyone can have it. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the foot’s plantar fascia. The plantar fascia functions as a shock absorber of sorts and you can injure it if you do certain exercises such as long-distance running. You can also injure it by prolonged standing on hard surfaces and if you are flat-footed. Some of the symptoms include stabbing pain at the bottom of your foot near your heel. The pain can be worse after running or walking.
What to do if you have heel pain.
Visit your podiatrist to discuss your symptoms. Your doctor may require imaging studies to diagnose and may recommend treatment options including wearing specialized shoes or arch support, night splints, physical therapy and other modes of treatment.
Summary
Here are a few walking and running symptoms that you should never ignore.
Knee pain - You may have tendonitis or bursitis. Tendonitis is an inflammation of your tendons while a bursitis is an inflammation of your bursa (fluid filled sacs near your knee joints).
Cramping, heavy feeling in legs, and swelling – You could have Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI), a condition of the veins of the leg or Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), a condition of the arteries of the leg.
Leg pain, swelling, tenderness and redness over the part affected - You may have Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) which is a serious medical issue that needs urgent emergency care.
Pins and needles sensation or radiating pain from the lower spine to the back of your leg - You may have Sciatica. This occurs when a herniated disk presses on a nerve root. Other underlying issues can cause sciatic pain.
Heel pain - You could have Plantar Fasciitis. A very common inflammation of the foot’s plantar fascia.
Reference
"Knee bursitis" - Mayo Clinic
"PAD: What is it?" - American Heart Association, Jun 30, 2017
"Venous Insufficiency, Don’t Ignore the Symptoms" - Lee Health, April 28, 2018
"Chronic Venous Insufficiency" - Hopkins Medicine
"Tendinitis" - WebMD
"Sciatica Overview Video" - Spine-Health
"Plantar fasciitis" - Mayo Clinic