How often have you complained about leg pain? Leg pain is a frequent problem confronted by many people. Some times it could be due to fatigue, but at times it could also be for some other health reasons. In any case, it’s best not to ignore it.

Causes
Leg pain can be because of tiredness of muscles, muscular contraction, nervous strain, excess walking, and formation of lump due to clotting of blood, irregular blood flow in the feet, hips, and knees. Improper diet, deficiency of water, and food deficient in potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and vitamins, also leads to leg ache. Excessive dose of medicines, hairline fracture in the bone, overstretched or a torn muscle, nerve damages, low level of cholesterol, gout, arthritis, obesity, tumors, bone and skin infections all lead to leg pain.

Symptoms
People with leg pain may experience pain in their legs in different locations like pain in ankle, foot, knee, hip, thigh, and calf. The pain may occur in different forms like burning, aching, dull, sharp, or heavy, along with muscle contraction. The most common leg pain symptom is leg weakness, numbness, swelling, stiff leg, unable to do exercise, incapable of doing physical work.

Diagnosis
To ascertain potential causes of leg pain following tests may be carried out depending upon the situation. The various tests are X-ray, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Doppler ultrasound, CAT scan, Bone scan, Bone density test, Anthrography, Biopsy, Blood tests, and Ankle-brachial index.

Prevention methods
To some extent one can avoid leg pain by bringing out certain changes in their lifestyle like loosing weight, quit smoking, doing mild regular exercises, eating a balanced diet, prevent diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure. One can even opt for massage therapy.

Treatment
For treating sprains you need to take complete rest. Keep your legs at an elevation and massage the affected area with ice. You can take medicines like ibuprofen and Acetaminophen to control pain. Besides medical aid, one should drink lots of water to soothe muscles contraction, include milk and milk products in the diet like curd, cheese, nuts, Soya beans, green vegetables, fruit juices. Eat a balanced diet rich in calcium and magnesium and keep a check on weight.

If you suffer from acute leg pain, do not avoid it at all. Visit your doctor and take back your strength, mobility, and health.