Leg Pain and Claudication
Intermittent claudication is the medical term for leg pain which comes on when walking as a consequence of peripheral arterial disease (lack of blood supply). The arteries supplying blood to the legs can narrow down and sometimes become blocked due to a process called atherosclerosis (furring of the arteries).
Leg pain that starts when you’re walking can have a number of causes. One of the most common is peripheral arterial disease, but the symptoms can also come from problems with your nerves or spine. It’s often termed intermittent claudication, from the Latin word for limping.
The pain
If you’re suffering from intermittent claudication you’ll usually experience pain in your calves, thighs or buttocks. If the pain is due to peripheral arterial disease in your lower limbs, it means your arteries have narrowed or become blocked due to atherosclerosis. So, when your muscles need extra blood and oxygen during exercise, the arteries can’t supply it. The result? Pain. When you stop walking the muscles require less blood and oxygen, so the pain goes away.
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Diagnosis and treatment
We take careful note of your symptoms, and use non-invasive tests, such as ankle brachial pressure indices, exercise testing and ultrasound scans. We offer all these tests as a one-stop-service. If we then discuss intervention with you, we may then need to carry out other tests, such as a CT angiogram or MR angiogram.
Effective treatment includes managing your risk factors and lifestyle, in particular, stopping smoking, and controlling blood pressure, cholesterol and, if you’re diabetic, blood sugar. Weight loss and a recommended exercise programme are also helpful. In some cases, we may consider surgical treatment, including angioplasty or bypass.
