Are you suffering from pain or heaviness below your knees?
Symptoms vary from person to person, ranging from ``I feel a little tired and uncomfortable'' to ``My calf hurts a lot'' and ``My whole lower leg feels heavy,'' but if these symptoms continue, they can significantly reduce the quality of your daily life.
You may also be concerned about whether your condition is best treated at a medical institution.
In this article, we will explain in detail the diseases that cause pain and heaviness below the knees, and explain in detail everything from simple remedies that can be done at home to appropriate treatments at specialized institutions.
If you're unsure whether your symptoms are an emergency, please check this out.
table of contents
Causes of pain and heaviness below the knees
Symptoms can be caused by a variety of causes, ranging from common causes to specific illnesses. If you are sick, you may have problems with circulation in the blood vessels in your legs.
general muscle fatigue
The most common cause of pain, heaviness, and sluggishness below the knees is simple muscle fatigue.
It tends to occur after long hours of standing work, desk work in the same position, or after strenuous exercise, and in most cases it improves with rest.
Mechanism that causes pain and heaviness below the knee
It's easy to imagine that your leg muscles get tired when you work while standing, but why do you get tired just by sitting? There are many people who are wondering this.
When you work at a desk, the force of gravity causes blood to concentrate in your legs, making circulation difficult. This reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and other tissues in your legs.
This lack of supply inhibits energy production (ATP production) at the cellular level. ATP is necessary for all activities in the body, such as muscle contraction, nerve transmission, and cell repair, so a lack of ATP is one of the main causes of fatigue.
countermeasure
Avoid staying in the same position for long periods of time as much as possible. If you work at a desk, one way to prevent this is to set aside a time to exercise your legs or walk.
If you're standing at work, it's a good idea to massage your feet during your breaks, and if possible, wear compression stockings to encourage blood circulation in your feet.
varicose veins
Varicose veins are a condition in which the veins in the legs dilate, causing blood to flow backwards. It is considered to be one of the causes of pain and heaviness below the knees.
It is often clearly visible in appearance, with veins that stand out and appear bumpy, or look like curved blue-purple lines. Additionally, your ankles and feet tend to swell, and you may feel heaviness in your feet, pain, sluggishness, and fatigue. It often worsens after standing or walking for long periods of time.
It can also cause leg cramps at night, which can lead to severe pain and discomfort afterwards.
Mechanism that causes pain and heaviness below the knee
When the valves in the veins no longer function properly, it becomes difficult for blood to return to the heart against gravity, causing blood to pool in the legs. As explained in the section on general muscle fatigue, blood stagnation in the legs causes heaviness and fatigue in the legs.
Blood stasis also puts extra pressure on the walls of the veins in your legs. As a result, edema and inflammation occur in the surrounding tissues, which can easily cause pain.
Measures/Treatment
For accurate diagnosis, specialized institutions use a method called Doppler ultrasound, which tests the state of blood flow and the function of venous valves.
We will also take pictures using a contrast agent to check the condition of your veins in detail.
Vein strengtheners may also be used to strengthen the vein walls, and anti-inflammatory drugs may be used to reduce pain and swelling.
If the vein in the problem area should be closed, a laser, radiofrequency, or sclerosing agent may be used to close the vein. Varicose veins mostly form in small blood vessels (superficial veins) close to the surface of the body. Even if the vein is completely occluded, the body will continue to use other veins for blood flow, so it is said to be very safe.
arteriosclerosis obliterans
It is a disease in which blood flow is obstructed due to stenosis (narrowing) or occlusion of arteries. This can also cause pain and malaise below the knee.
If the degree of blood vessel occlusion becomes severe, blood flow may be completely obstructed and the leg may become necrotic, so it is very important to keep an eye on the progress.
Mechanism that causes pain and heaviness below the knee
If you have arteriosclerosis obliterans, you may experience intermittent claudication, which means that you can walk short distances with good balance, but as the distances get longer, you feel pain in your legs and feel extremely tired. Symptoms appear that disappear. This is because the blood flow necessary for exercise is obstructed, making it easy to suffer from oxygen deficiency. However, you will be able to walk again after a few minutes of rest, so even if you can't walk a long distance at once, you can still walk a long distance as long as you take a break. The location of the pain depends on the site of the obstruction.
Also, keep in mind that there are cases where you may experience numbness due to blockage of blood flow.
Naturally, if the blood flow becomes severely stagnate, it may be difficult for the wound to heal, or an ulcer may occur, which is not just a superficial wound, but rather a deep wound.
This may cause even more pain, and there may be cases where factors such as pain due to stagnation of blood flow and pain from the ulcer overlap.
Measures/Treatment
Antiplatelet drugs are used to prevent blood clot formation.
If surgery is necessary, a balloon catheter is used to dilate the narrowed part of the artery, or a stent (metal mesh tube) is placed inside the blood vessel to keep it open.
However, in severe cases with long-term blockage or multiple blockages, bypass surgery may be selected. This method uses artificial blood vessels or your own veins to create a new blood flow route that bypasses the blocked area.
deep vein thrombosis
This is a disease in which blood clots form in deep veins.
The main symptoms include swelling, pain, discoloration of the skin, and a feeling of warmth in the leg on the side where the blood clot is present, but there may be no symptoms.
Mechanism that causes pain and heaviness below the knee
Deep vein thrombosis also involves obstruction of blood flow due to blood clots. Similar to the diseases described above, this causes pain, heaviness, and fatigue in the legs because insufficient oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the tissues, and the vein walls tend to become inflamed.
Measures/Treatment
Anticoagulant therapy is given by injection under the skin or taken by mouth to make the blood less likely to clot.
In severe cases, thrombolytic drugs are injected directly into the blood clot through a catheter to quickly dissolve it.
Additionally, risk factors for any of the above diseases include smoking, high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, and diabetes, so if these apply to you, you may need to receive guidance on improving your lifestyle.
Other factors
Other environmental factors can also cause heaviness below the knees.
Use of inappropriate shoes
Shoes that are the wrong size or shape, or shoes that force you into an unnatural posture, such as high heels, can put undue strain on certain parts of your feet. It is also best to avoid shoes with extremely narrow toes or shoes that do not fit the arch of the sole of the foot.
lack of water
Adequate fluid intake is important to maintain proper blood viscosity and promote circulation. Dehydration increases blood viscosity. This means that the blood tends to become muddy.
As a result, circulation deteriorates, making it easier to feel sluggish and heavy in the lower limbs. Let's recognize that frequent water intake is one of the important lifestyle habits.
Nutritional imbalance/deficiency
Deficiencies in certain nutrients can also cause lower extremity discomfort.
For example, potassium and magnesium are essential nutrients for efficient energy production.
If you have frequent cramps, or if your legs feel heavy and easily fatigued, you cannot deny the possibility that these symptoms are caused by a lack of potassium or magnesium. It is necessary to take a well-balanced intake.
summary
If any of the above apply to you, consider seeing a vascular surgeon, hematologist, or circulatory organ specialist. The blood circulation in the area below the knees is easily blocked and requires comprehensive care. You can keep your feet healthy with regular exercise, a healthy diet, and a habit of taking care of your feet. It is important to strike a balance between self-management and professional care depending on the severity of the symptoms.