Peripheral artery disease: Why your calf muscles may be paining
Peripheral artery disease is narrowing of blood vessels, usually from plaque buildup, reducing blood flow to limbs. Symptoms include intermittent claudication, rest pain, hyperaesthesia, coldness, numbness, ulcers, and gangrene. Pain patterns may be arterial or neurogenic.
What is Peripheral Artery Disease? A condition of the blood vessels where they become narrowed, thus reducing the amount of blood reaching the limbs, is known as peripheral artery disease. It can be due to multiple reasons that cause symptoms like crampy pain. Plaque buildup is usually the reason for this.(Image: Canva)
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Intermittent Claudication One of the main symptoms of peripheral artery disease is intermittent claudication. Claudio means ‘I limp’ in Latin. It is a specific type of crampy pain that is often seen in the muscles of the limbs. The occlusion of arteries by atherosclerotic lesions is why this pain occurs.(Image: Canva)
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Accumulation of Metabolites Metabolites like lactic acid and substance P begin to accumulate in the muscles due to the blockage of the arteries, thus leading to intermittent claudication. One of the most common sites for this pain to occur is the calf. However, pain may also be seen in the foot and the thigh.(Image: Canva)
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Collateral Blood Flow Pain due to peripheral artery disease may manifest while walking, however, on continuing to walk, this pain may disappear because of blood flow through the collaterals, which washes the metabolites away. As the disease progresses, the pain persists even while walking.(Image: Canva)
Pain Relief with Rest In severe cases, the affected individual may need to rest to relieve pain. Pain while walking may be present in many cases, and the underlying cause may be arterial, neurogenic or venous. In arterial causes, the pain resolves quickly (within five minutes), once the person stops walking.(Image: Canva)
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Neurogenic Pain Cause If the pain has occurred due to a neurogenic cause, it occurs when the person is standing or walking, and it disappears immediately after one has stopped walking. Spinal canal stenosis, or spinal narrowing, usually causes such type of pain in the limbs.(Image: Canva)
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Rest Pain Rest pain is also a common symptom of peripheral arterial disease. It occurs in different parts of the limbs depending upon where the vessel is obstructed. As the blood supply of the nerves is compromised, severe ischemia occurs, thus leading to pain (also called a cry of dying nerves).(Image: Canva)
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Hyperaesthesia An abnormal increase in the sensitivity of touch and pain sensations, known as hyperaesthesia, is seen along with rest pain. This type of pain increases when the person lies down, and may be reduced when the feet are hanging down. Such pain increases at night-time, and may lead to difficulty in sleeping.(Image: Canva)
Other Symptoms Other symptoms include cold peripheries and numbness in the limbs. There may also be colour changes and ulceration, and in severe cases, may lead to gangrene (dead tissue that develops due to a lack of blood supply). The movements of the diseased limb may be affected.(Image: Canva)
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Diagnosis and Tests The blood pressure is measured at multiple levels of the limb to determine which arteries have been affected. A complete blood count is also advised, and reduced levels of haemoglobin may delay healing as enough oxygen does not reach the tissues. A test for diabetes may also be done, as diabetes can increase the chances of infection.(Image: Canva) Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis
Rajeshwaari Kalla is a freelance health and wellness writer
