Have you ever been lying in bed with the feeling that your legs were being twisted? different sides? Probably everyone has encountered such a problem at least once in their life. But some people experience similar sensations almost every night, and it becomes a real nightmare, reducing the quality of sleep and provoking neuroses. Moreover, doctors have noticed that women twist their legs at night several times more often than men.
Physiological reasons
Naturally, the question of why women spin their legs before sleep has become relevant, and whether there are effective methods prevention and treatment of this problem. As with any problems in the body, in order to eliminate them, you must first determine the causes as accurately as possible.
They are similar in many ways for women and men. But women are more likely to experience natural fluctuations hormonal levels, therefore they are more susceptible to the disease, which doctors call syndrome restless legs, at which they arise discomfort mostly at night.
The easiest way to identify physiological reasons on which he spins his legs before going to bed. They are not associated with diseases and inflammatory processes in the body, but are provoked by external causes:
If It's a dull pain and discomfort in the legs is caused by physiological reasons, they appear irregularly. And after elimination negative influence external factors disappear immediately and permanently.
Pathological factors
Things are worse when pathological changes in the body, the symptom of which is restless legs syndrome. They can be suspected by the regularity of twisting pain in the legs and their intensification over time in the absence of effective treatment.
Twisting legs at night mainly with the following diagnoses:
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- renal failure;
- thrombosis of the veins of the lower extremities;
- pathologies of large vessels and arteries;
- acute deficiency of iron in the blood;
- endocrine diseases;
- diabetes mellitus;
- neurological problems;
- bruises, dislocations and other injuries to the legs.
If the legs were once broken, then even with perfect fusion of the bones they will always hurt after severe overwork, with sudden changes climate or weather conditions. Nothing can be done about this, all that remains is to come to terms with it severe pain use anesthetics.
Features during pregnancy
Another variety of purely women's problem with legs - when they begin to swell greatly and twist before bed in the second half of pregnancy. This cannot be called a pathology - expecting a child is one of the best periods in the life of every woman. But the legs hurt precisely because of the changes that occur in the body.
On later the load on the legs increases significantly. Therefore, it is very important to give them time to rest throughout the day. Body weight is also distributed incorrectly - the main load falls on bending lumbar region. A woman leans a little backwards when walking and because of this, her heels suffer greatly. By evening they may hurt and your feet may twist.
During this period, comfortable clothes and shoes become especially important, which should not interfere with blood circulation and limit freedom of movement. Pregnant women should only wear shapewear according to medical indications, if recommended by the supervising physician.
Treatment methods must be chosen with great care - even folk remedies Not suitable for everyone at this time. But after childbirth, the problem usually disappears on its own.
Treatment and prevention
If nighttime leg discomfort is caused by pathological reasons, then it is likely that targeted comprehensive treatment of the underlying disease will be required. This may include: drug therapy, electrical procedures, manual or vacuum massage. And in rare cases (thrombosis, etc.), surgical intervention becomes necessary.
Such methods of physical and mental relief as physiotherapy, yoga, swimming. But some types of exercise should be temporarily abandoned: running, jumping, weight lifting.
A lot of stress on the legs occurs with some dance styles - this is also worth paying attention to. Nightclub life may have to be limited for a while.
A great addition to traditional treatment are the ways home prevention restless legs syndrome. Not all of them are useful during pregnancy - this should be clarified with your supervising doctor. But for others, the methods listed below will not only relieve discomfort in the legs, but will also give them deeper and more restful sleep.
Don't forget that most diseases are caused by stress. Therefore it is very important to support positive attitude throughout the day, and especially just before bed.
Sometimes watching a movie that is too aggressive or emotionally intense can cause restless leg syndrome and prevent you from falling asleep normally.
If you cannot solve the problem yourself for a long time, contact medical assistance. Perhaps the reasons are hidden more deeply, and feet twisting at night are a symptom of a serious illness. It is better to undergo examination in time and begin treatment than to let the disease progress and consult a doctor when it has already progressed to chronic form or caused complications.
If you constantly begin to feel unpleasant painful sensations in the legs, the cause should be identified. Typically, the effectiveness of treatment depends on correct diagnosis.
So, pain syndrome in the knees may occur due to diseases cordially- vascular system, as well as in the presence of inflammation in the body. People are also often bothered similar pains when there is a sudden change in temperature or atmospheric pressure.
Affected joints often cause leg pain. We are talking about salt deposits in the body. And of course, vascular atherosclerosis and varicose veins can cause similar unpleasant sensations. Sometimes completely healthy people can simply “twist” their legs after the heat. This is due to an unsuccessful fight against overheating, when unhardened people often take cold showers.
Periodic pain in the legs occurs in smokers, because smoking slows down the blood circulation and leads to a narrowing of the blood vessels in the lower extremities. It happens that painful sensations of this kind bother children. This is usually due to a lack of some vitamins. The same problems are often observed in pregnant women due to a lack of calcium in the body.
How to get rid of leg pain
If doctors determine that the cause of the pain is lower limbs are diseases of the cardiovascular system, you can try making special compresses. Just cut off a layer of lard and apply it to the sore spot. A good remedy is compresses from hot pepper. Grind three pods in a meat grinder and add plantain and onion juice, as well as a little bone fat. It is recommended to apply such a compress to sore spots and wrap them in warm material. Of course, when serious problems With blood vessels, compresses alone will not be enough. You will definitely need to undergo physiotherapeutic procedures.
Healing warm baths of pine needles and chamomile will help cope with painful symptoms in the lower extremities. But if the cause is in the joints, baths are not recommended. In such a situation, you will need to take anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by your doctor.
Children suffering from leg pain need to consume more vitamin complexes or calcium alone. Essentially, pregnant women need to be treated in exactly the same way. But first it’s better to contact your gynecologist so that he can prescribe the necessary vitamins.
Ekbom syndrome or “restless legs” most often torments women in adulthood. There are quite a few reasons for this phenomenon, so before buying medicine or using folk remedies, it is important to find out why your legs are twisting - a specialist will tell you what to do and how to eliminate the symptom after making a diagnosis.
Why does he twist his legs at night and during the day?
Main predisposing factors:
- pathologies in kidney function;
- neurological diseases;
- endarteritis (obliterating);
- anemia;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- disturbances in brain activity;
- narrowing of blood vessels or formation of plaque walls on the periphery;
- heart ailments;
- following strict diets of little nutritional value.
In addition, in some cases it is not possible to find out the nature of the problem under consideration, especially if there is weather sensitivity. In such situations, a connection is assumed between exacerbation vegetative-vascular dystonia with Ekbom's syndrome.
What should you do if your legs twist too much at night or during the day?
General doctor's prescriptions include adjusting diet and lifestyle. Thus, the patient is advised to refuse bad habits, replenish your diet with calcium, iron and magnesium. In addition to these measures, muscle relaxants are used to achieve effective muscle relaxation and prevent cramps. Additionally, you can take drugs that improve brain activity (nootropics).
It is important to select treatment procedures individually, taking into account the age and characteristics of the body, as well as the cause of the disease. For pathologies of the vascular system and blood circulation, medications that thin the blood and improve the permeability of capillaries are prescribed, for example:
- Aspirin;
- Detralex;
- Normoven.
Among medicines local application the most effective are ointments and gels based on heparin and horse chestnut extract:
- Troxevasin;
- Venitan.
Physiotherapy such as massage, rubbing, darsonvalization can also help. Good effect carries out a course of magnetic or pulse effects, acupuncture.
One of the simplest but effective methods temperature difference is considered. Before going to bed, you need to first hold your feet under hot water and then take a cold shower. After the procedure, it is advisable to do an intense massage of the limbs using a mixture olive oil And sea salt, lemon and garlic juice.
What to do if you twist your calves and the temperature rises?
The symptoms in question indicate that an inflammatory process is occurring in the body, most likely affecting the venous walls. This condition fraught with dangerous clinical manifestations as severe forms insufficiency of blood vessels, varicose veins, blood clot formation.
If there is an increase in temperature, it is first of all important to relieve inflammation and pain (Nimesil, Nimesulide). After this, measures should be taken to facilitate blood flow and normalize the permeability of the walls of arteries and veins, strengthen them, and increase elasticity.
Why does he twist his toes?
Such disorders are usually characteristic of deforming arthrosis in its early form. To avoid progression of the disease and significant changes in the joints, it is important to follow these recommendations:
- Change your shoes; they should be as comfortable as possible, orthopedic if possible.
- Enrich your diet with gelatin, foods containing potassium and calcium.
- Reduce the amount of salt you consume.
- Take B vitamins as well.
Surely everyone in their life has encountered unpleasant sensations in the lower extremity belt area. Such sensations may vary in nature and intensity and may be the result of injury, chronic illness, or some other factor. Painful and general discomfort in the legs is quite common, but only 10 percent of all cases have pathological character. At the same time, many simply underestimate the twisting of limbs, attributing it to overwork, lack of sleep, or not at all trying to find the cause of these phenomena.
Restless legs syndrome - what is it?
To give a more specific definition, restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder that manifests itself as unpleasant sensations affecting the area from the knee to the foot. Persons suffering from the characterized illness describe their sensations in different ways, for example, as if electric discharges, goosebumps, burning sensation, trembling, tingling, etc. It is worth noting that the problem becomes most intense when the limbs are at rest, This is why symptoms most often appear at night.
Despite the common descriptions of symptoms, there are guaranteed common feature is an obsessive worry that makes it very difficult to fall asleep or get enough sleep. During relaxation, a feeling of discomfort is forced to perform certain rituals, mainly getting out of bed and walking around the room, putting pressure on the feet, as a result of which the sensations subside. However, as soon as you return to bed, the obsessive itching begins to persistently drive you crazy again.
The main symptom is also accompanied by mild and sometimes sharp twitching of the limbs, which occurs in almost everyone healthy person. But it is worth noting that mainly those people who suffer from Ekbok syndrome wake up. In this situation, twitching occurs quite often, in some cases about twice a minute, thereby awakening the brain. The next morning, such a person cannot feel cheerful, collected and ready to work.
Why your legs twist at night and during the day: reasons
It should be noted that there are quite a few reasons for the pulling sensation in the legs. Among the factors predisposing to the phenomenon may be systemic disorders in the body, accompanied by metabolic disturbances, changes in work internal organs, and biological systems in organism. Possible injuries, histological pathologies and even allergic reactions, which results in disturbing sensations that can appear both in the middle of the day and before bed.
If we consider the mechanisms of the phenomenon, then it is worth paying attention to the fact that similar symptoms often occur with colds, poisoning and other diseases when the temperature in the body rises. This happens because the body leaves a large amount of moisture, which is why pulling and aching sensations arise, which are mostly concentrated in the knees.
Many women experience the described symptoms before menstruation, as well as during menopause. This happens because the body is faced with hormonal changes, due to which the functioning of all biological systems and processes is restructured. For example, legs may twist due to a lack of iron and other macro- and microelements.
Diseases that can twist your legs
It is necessary to start with the simplest and most difficult at the same time - the psychosomatic nature of the origin of discomfort. In more detail, most diseases occur due to a mismatch between the physiological and mental components. In this case, it is important to note that the described sensations in the legs can have not only a pathological physiological nature, but also a mental one. Every person lives with fear, anxiety, uncertainty - all this mental states causing an accumulation of tension and often in the legs. If we summarize all of the above under specific mental disorders, then the described symptoms will be characteristic of depressive states, neurotic complexes, hysteria, etc.
As for serious physiological diseases, in which pulling and aching sensations in the legs are possible, you need to start with inflammatory diseases. Arthritis is a development inflammatory process in the joints. Most often, the cause of the disease is a malfunction immune system. There is also arthrosis, a disease that affects bones and joints, causing degenerative processes in the tissues of the body. In this case, the pain intensifies while walking and distributing loads on the affected limb.
When it comes to varicose veins, there are no unnecessary questions left. The fact is that such a disease leads to a violation normal operation circulatory system. There are feelings of heaviness in the legs, weakness and other manifestations characteristic of the syndrome. There are still quite a lot of diseases that lead to numbness, pain and other symptoms, among them it is necessary to highlight:
- anemia;
- endarteritis;
- heart failure;
- pathological narrowing of blood vessels, etc.
Why do my legs hurt so much in the knees and hips due to the weather?
It’s worth starting by highlighting two terms that will help bring some clarity to the situation associated with aching knees when the weather changes. Weather sensitivity is a person’s ability to physically sense changes in weather conditions. This phenomenon is quite widespread, and it is believed that half of all women on Earth and a third of all men are weather sensitive.
Meteopathy is a pathological, painful dependence of a person’s well-being on climatic fluctuations. The disease mainly occurs in people with chronic diseases associated with dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system, as well as in people who have ever had a lower extremity injury. Such people constantly and accurately guess the weather, especially in cases of exacerbation of osteochondrosis, arthritis or arthrosis.
Among the most noticeable changes are a decrease in atmospheric air pressure, cooling, and an increase in air humidity. The physiology of the process lies in the fact that most degenerative joint disorders are accompanied by death or injury to the nerve endings adjacent to the diseased joint. With an increase in humidity or pressure, the affected joint begins to become inflamed, affecting the same “sick” nerve, which leads to the appearance of sharp and characteristic pain.
Twisting legs during pregnancy
During pregnancy, more often than in any other cases, restless leg syndrome arises out of nowhere and worsens. A similar problem was described quite clearly above, however, during pregnancy, this situation takes on a special meaning. If the problem arose precisely during the period of bearing a child, then there is no need to worry, since everything will go away after the birth. The peculiarity of the origin of the disease among expectant mothers lies in the fact that very often the body of a pregnant woman needs additional vitamins and minerals. And the described syndrome occurs in the event of a lack of iron, magnesium, as well as B vitamins in the mother’s body. If you do not focus on RLS, then swelling of the lower extremities, fatigue, overwork, anxiety, etc. can also lead to discomfort.
What should I do and which doctor should I contact for treatment?
First of all, it is necessary to adjust your lifestyle, namely, pay attention to the following factors:
- moderately long night sleep;
- nutritious nutrition, excluding overeating and eating junk food;
- smoking, drinking alcohol and taking large quantity Coffee should be excluded during the day;
- if pulling and aching sensations are accompanied by strong tension accumulated closer to the feet, then you can take a few tablets of valerian or other sedative etc.
As for the specialist, among the doctors who could help with the current problem are: neurologist, vascular surgeon, however, it all depends on the cause of the discomfort.
How to treat discomfort with Ekbok syndrome
It has been found that a particular syndrome may have various reasons, on the basis of which a treatment strategy will be drawn up. If the process is caused by a violation of the vascular bed, then blood thinning drugs are prescribed, for example, Normaven, Aspirin, Detralex. Ointments and gels may be prescribed for local therapy, among which the most often used are: “Venitan”, “Troxevasin”, “Lioton”. It is necessary to smear the preparations locally by rubbing painful areas and allowing the product to be completely absorbed into the skin. For complex treatment Various physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture are needed.
Folk remedies will help relieve pain
An express remedy for aching feet, fingers and knees is hot bath, into which you should pour a decoction of chamomile flowers. To prepare it, you need to pour 3 tablespoons of the herb with a liter of water and boil for 15 minutes, then leave for a couple of hours and pour the product into the bath. As methods local treatment you can use regular cabbage leaf, which needs to be tied to the sore area of the leg and walked like this for several hours.
Video: why joints and leg muscles ache at night
The video we offer for viewing is an excerpt from a well-known medical TV show. After familiarizing yourself with the material, you can formulate general idea about a specific disease, understand its mechanisms and treatment features. Specialists taking part in the filming of the program give basic recommendations to cope with the disease, relieve its symptoms and prevent relapses.
Unfortunately, this syndrome is not a metaphor, meaning that a person cannot sit still, and he is constantly rushing somewhere, running and in a hurry. No, it's medical term, defining an extremely unpleasant and painful condition in the leg area below the knee.
This phenomenon was first described by Thomas Willis in 1672, but its comprehensive study began only in the 40s of the 20th century by the Swedish neurologist Ekbom. Actually, the second name for RLS is Ekbom syndrome.
How does it manifest itself?
People suffering from this syndrome experience extremely unpleasant sensations in their legs, which get worse at night and in the evening.
For example:
- itching in the calves and feet;
- unpleasant sensations of tingling, squeezing;
- it may feel like something is scratching under the skin of the legs;
- twists the calves, bursts them from the inside;
- Goosebumps run down your legs below the knees.
Features of the syndrome
Usually this disease bothers people at night, during sleep. It has a clear daily rhythm: the first pain occurs 15 minutes to half an hour after going to bed. Leg pain reaches its peak at night between midnight and six o'clock in the morning.
IN severe cases the circadian rhythm is disrupted, the legs begin to twist even during the day, and not only in a supine position. It becomes painful for a person suffering from this syndrome to sit anywhere: in the theater and cinema, in public transport, at work in the office, on the plane.
This disease is often transmitted genetically. People who inherited it are forced to contract the leg muscles, bend and straighten their feet in order to get rid of unpleasant painful sensations. The consequence of these actions is awakening, that is, sleep disturbance. Therefore, the main complaint of such patients is insomnia.
What else can cause aches and pain in your feet and legs?
Despite the very wide distribution of RLS, it occurs very often, but is diagnosed extremely rarely.
Unfortunately, modern doctors are not very familiar with this disease, and patient complaints of discomfort in the legs at night are often regarded as manifestations psychological stress, neurosis, joint diseases and peripheral vessels, osteochondrosis of the spine.
Physiological reasons
What could be the physiological causes of aching legs:
- Cramps. They are more typical for children and adolescents; they worsen as the body grows and are provoked by a lack of calcium.
- Your legs may just get tired. Long walk or prolonged standing, overload calf muscles can lead to the fact that even in bed they do not relax, but continue to whine strenuously.
- Lack of water in the body also often makes itself felt by aching legs. If a person drinks little during the day, before going to bed and at night, he may feel his calves twisting, which will interfere with normal sleep.
- PMS. Some girls and women experience premenstrual syndrome not only in the form of malaise and pain in the lower abdomen, but also in the form of discomfort or aching sensations below the knees.
- Side effects of antidepressants, neuroleptics, antihistamines. All drugs designed to bring spiritual harmony and tranquility to life can also add extremely unpleasant sensations in the calves and legs.
Pathological causes
As stated above, most of pathological manifestations, in which he twists his legs at night, one way or another, results in restless leg syndrome.
In addition, the following diseases can lead to aching legs:
- Arthritis. Damage to the joints, namely the knees and ankles, gives a feeling that is popularly called “ache” and simply severe twisting pain.
- Atherosclerosis. Chronic illness arteries caused by deposits on their walls cholesterol plaques, due to which the walls become denser and lose elasticity. In the event of such changes in blood vessels legs, sick people suffer nagging pain during sleep.
- Phlebeurysm. This disease is one of the most common causes of pain below the knees. Veins on the legs swell and appear spider veins and stars. All this causes tension in the lower extremities, swelling, discomfort and pain.
- Iron-deficiency anemia. Quite often, a lack of iron in the body becomes main reason RLS. It has been proven that in the majority of patients this very syndrome is inextricably linked with anemia and, in most cases, depends on it.
Why can you twist your legs during pregnancy?
This can happen for any of the reasons listed above, or for several at once. If a woman had at least one disease before pregnancy, it will most likely worsen during this difficult and important period carrying a baby.
Varicose veins, anemia, side effect medications prescribed by an obstetrician-gynecologist or endocrinologist, hemorrhoids (which is also a type of varicose veins), as well as hormonal changes in the body, increased load on the spine and legs - all this can lead to unpleasant painful sensations in the calves and shins.
What to do if your legs give you no rest?
We found out why pain below the knees may occur. But how to deal with this? First of all, you need to consult a doctor to find out the reason why your legs are twisting in a particular case.
- For cramps, a massage before bed and taking calcium-containing medications and dietary supplements are prescribed.
- In case of RLS, first of all, antipsychotic drugs are excluded, if they are taken, and secondly, they are prescribed iron supplements to overcome anemia (if it was confirmed by test results).
- For osteochondrosis, physiotherapeutic procedures are usually prescribed.
- Varicose veins may require regular wearing of support stockings or stockings, taking venotonics, as well as performing special gymnastics for feet and ointments
- Treating arthritis and atherosclerosis requires a serious approach. Only a doctor can tell you what to do in a particular case, based on the results of the examination and the severity of the identified disease.
If medical examination showed that the patient is healthy, but he is still periodically visited by irritating discomfort in his legs, consuming this will help combat this. sufficient quantity water during the day, as well as a warm shower or bath before bed.
Ekbom also noticed that these unpleasant sensations are more pronounced in people with cold feet. It follows that if he twists his legs, they need to be warmed up.
If you can't take a hot bath or warm shower, you can wear socks at night. Only they must be natural: wool, bamboo or cotton.
Video: symptoms and treatment of RLS
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