Hi. Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.Com I m sorry to hear about your mothers difficulties. There could be a few causes to this kind of pain. At this age anyone (but most commonly diabetics) can start developing a disease called Peripheral Neuropathy. This is a problem where the nerves in the leg are damaged. The damage can be caused by diabetes, but sometimes it is idiopathic (which simply means, we don t know ). Spinal cord issues including a pinched nerve in the lower back can also cause this kind of pain. Does your mother complain of back pain by any chance? The best thing for her to do would be to head to the doctor and have her pain looked at directly. At the office they can examine her legs and general health and maybe even get some testing done. tests like ElectroMyoGraphy (EMG) can be used to test the fucntion of the nerves in the leg. I am not saying that she needs this NOW. But after being examined the doctor may wish to get this done. So all in all. If you would like a more detailed personalized discussion of your mothers issues, you can use our ask a Doctor or Ask a Specialist service. Or you can take her to the local doctor and have her examined directly. I hope this helps. Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.com