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Painful Calf,painful,difficulty Walking
Question: Hi. My sister has great pain in her lower legs (calf). she says if feels like someone is squeezing them and very painful to walk.... She is 44 y/o. mother of two.
Hello and thanks for the query.
I will try to provide you with some good information and recommendations regarding what is going on with your sister.
We have to consider multiple categories of possible causes including musculoskeletal, vascular and infectious. Leg pain due to a musculoskeletal source generally happens in response to an injury such as a muscle pull or arthritis.
Calf pain in this sense would possibly be due to a muscle pull and would generally improve within a few days.
Infectious causes would be related to an infection under the skin. This is generally associated with redness of the skin, swelling and fever. This seems less likely in the case of your sister.
The vascular category is the most worrisome and in the case of your sister this has to be strongly considered. There are blood vessels in the calf called veins and in some cases a blood clot may form in one of these veins. We refer to this as a XXXXXXX venous thrombosis or DVT. This presents with pain, sometimes swelling smog others. Risk factors include inactivity, smoking, trauma and use of hormones.
I would encourage your sister to seek a medical evaluation as soon as possible to rule out a DVT. This is important as DVTs can progress and cause a blood clot in the lung which can be very XXXXXXX
I thank you again for the query and hope my answer has been clear and informative. If you have any additional followups I would be happy to address them.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
I will try to provide you with some good information and recommendations regarding what is going on with your sister.
We have to consider multiple categories of possible causes including musculoskeletal, vascular and infectious. Leg pain due to a musculoskeletal source generally happens in response to an injury such as a muscle pull or arthritis.
Calf pain in this sense would possibly be due to a muscle pull and would generally improve within a few days.
Infectious causes would be related to an infection under the skin. This is generally associated with redness of the skin, swelling and fever. This seems less likely in the case of your sister.
The vascular category is the most worrisome and in the case of your sister this has to be strongly considered. There are blood vessels in the calf called veins and in some cases a blood clot may form in one of these veins. We refer to this as a XXXXXXX venous thrombosis or DVT. This presents with pain, sometimes swelling smog others. Risk factors include inactivity, smoking, trauma and use of hormones.
I would encourage your sister to seek a medical evaluation as soon as possible to rule out a DVT. This is important as DVTs can progress and cause a blood clot in the lung which can be very XXXXXXX
I thank you again for the query and hope my answer has been clear and informative. If you have any additional followups I would be happy to address them.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
