What is claudication pain? Signs and treatment

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Claudication is an intermittent pain in a certain muscle group in the body, usually occurring when the patient is active. The main cause of claudication is atherosclerosis. It is necessary to detect early signs of claudication and go to the hospital for treatment to avoid serious effects of the disease.

1. What is claudication?

Claudication is also known as intermittent pain. The patient will have painful contractions, tightness, extremely uncomfortable aches and pains in muscle groups such as calf muscles, hip muscles, buttock muscles...
The pain often occurs when the patient is active, The more you move, the more severe the pain is. The patient will feel comfortable, the pain will decrease with rest.
Claudication is often one of the symptoms of peripheral artery disease, because the arteries in charge of supplying blood to the muscles are narrowed, the limbs do not receive enough blood leading to pain.

2. Intermittent pain signs

The symptoms of claudication depend on the location of the pain, the degree of movement, and the severity of each person. In particular, the basic symptom will be sharp, restless pain in the calves, feet, hips, buttocks, biceps... In addition, signs of claudication include:
Feeling of heat burning, tingling under the skin; People who are tired, exhausted; Cold feet at night; Sore feet; Skin sores; Hair loss. If the pain occurs continuously, especially when moving, accompanied by some of the above symptoms, it is necessary to immediately think of claudication, diseases related to blood circulation, peripheral arteries.

3. Causes of claudication pain

As noted, claudication is one of the basic symptoms of peripheral artery disease. When having peripheral artery disease, the blood supply to the extremities will be reduced, the limbs that are not supplied with enough blood are gradually damaged, leading to pain. This is the result of atherosclerosis, when too much cholesterol builds up in the artery walls, hindering the flow of blood.
In addition, claudication can also be a symptom of peripheral neuropathic pain, deep vein thrombosis, musculoskeletal disease, spinal stenosis ...
The elderly, especially those with urinary tract diseases Diabetes, obesity have a high risk of claudication. Smokers are also very susceptible to the disease.

4. Treatment of claudication pain

4.1. Treatment of claudication First, patients with claudication need to make appropriate lifestyle changes, eliminating factors that increase the risk of disease, which can make the disease worse. Patients may be prescribed medication to help improve blood circulation. In case blood circulation is reduced, the patient will be indicated to perform minor angioplasty to widen the blocked artery. The doctor inserts a balloon catheter into the narrowed artery and inflates it to widen it. In case the patient is in severe pain, the pain is not relieved, the person with the ulcer does not heal... also need to perform surgery.
4.2. Appropriate living mode Limit vigorous exercise, activities that can cause damage to the legs and feet; Control weight, control diabetes, blood pressure, blood cholesterol; No smoking; Gentle exercise to increase blood circulation; Raise the head of the bed about 10-15cm above the leg so that the heart is higher than the leg, blood can easily go to the extremities; Have a healthy, well-balanced diet.

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