Leg Pain & Injury
 
Article by
N.Stewart, J. Ferguson
Areas of Leg Pain
Leg pain and injury are extremely common. Most leg pain can occur as a result of sports injuries, work injuries or simply everyday use. Alternatively, leg pain can be referred from your lower back joints. Sciatica is a well-known source of referred leg pain. Leg pain can also be caused by blood clots (DVT’s), varicose veins or poor circulation.
How Do You Get Rid of Pain in the Leg?
It is important to make an accurate diagnosis of the cause of your leg pain or injury so that appropriate treatment can be directed at the cause. Musculoskeletal and sports injuries are optimally treated by your physiotherapist. If surgery is required your doctor or physiotherapist may recommend that you seek the advice of an orthopaedic surgeon.
Referred pain from your lower back (e.g. sciatica) is also successfully treated by your trusted spinal healthcare practitioner eg physiotherapist. In a small percentage of patients, a spinal surgeon assessment may be required to resolve your leg pain.
Blood clots and vascular disorders may require the care of your doctor or a vascular surgeon. Untreated blood clots and DVT’s can have serious adverse health outcomes including strokes or death. Prompt medical attention is strongly recommended.
Please do not delay in consulting your doctor or physiotherapist if you experience leg pain. Some leg conditions can take many months or even years to heal when the diagnosis is incorrect or treatment is neglected early.
Common Causes of Leg Pain
By Structure
- Joint (Arthritis)
- Bursa (Bursitis)
- Ligament
- Muscle
- Tendon (Tendinopathy-Tendinitis-Tendinosis)
Common Ankle Injuries
Sprained Ankles
The most common ankle injury is a sprained ankle, but ankle pain can have numerous sources.
Ankle pain that results from a traumatic injury is often a sports-related injury. But you don't necessarily have to be an athlete or even a social sportsperson to twist your ankle.
Something as simple as walking on an uneven footpath can cause a rolled ankle, resulting in an ankle sprain. Ankle injuries can potentially occur at any age. Thousands of people sprain their ankles every day around the world. Just while you've been reading this article, a few hundred people have sprained their ankles. While ankle pain can result from many ankle and foot injuries, the most common ankle injuries are sprains (low and high ankle), which involve ligaments and bones in the ankle. But you can also fracture a bone, tear muscles or over-stress a tendon when you sprain your ankle.
High ankle sprains are generally a more significant injury. These injuries require thorough assessment and treatment to avoid long-term ankle arthritis. If you can't perform a single-leg calf raise within a few days, please seek an early professional ankle assessment.
Related links:
Ankle Fractures
An ankle fracture occurs when there is a break in one or more of the bones. The most common ankle fractures are avulsion fractures of your distal fibula, which can be a side effect of an ankle sprain. These are generally less troublesome than if you experience a talar dome fracture with your actual ankle joint. Potts fracture is a significant fracture of your tibia and fibula simultaneously. All suspected fractures require medical investigation and professional management by your health professional to avoid long-term foot and ankle issues. If your healthcare professional suspects an ankle fracture, you will be referred for at least an X-ray and potentially an Orthopaedic Surgeon. Related links:
- Ankle Fracture (Broken Ankle)
- Stress Fracture
- Stress Fracture Feet
- Severs Disease
- Heel Spur
- Shin Splints
Ankle Tendinopathies
While muscle strains are more common in your legs, there are essential muscles that converge into tendons that wrap around your ankle to stabilise your ankle and foot to protect them from sprains and allow you to walk and run. These muscles and their tendon vitally provide you with a normal foot arch and avoid flat feet.
Your muscles or tendons can become injured or inflamed as a result of overuse or trauma. The inflammation is called tendonitis. They can also tear, completely rupture, or sublux out of place. Medically tendon injuries are known as tendinopathies, and at the ankle may include:
- Achilles Tendinopathy
- Achilles Tendon Rupture
- Peroneal Tendinopathy
- Tibialis Posterior Tendinopathy
- FHL Tendinopathy
- Plantar Fasciitis
Ankle Arthritis
Your ankle pain and dysfunction can lead to degenerative conditions such as ankle osteoarthritis. While arthritis usually is a chronic deterioration of your ankle joint, it is crucial to slow ankle arthritis progression. Please seek the professional advice of your ankle and foot health practitioner, e.g. physiotherapist or podiatrist.
Biomechanical Conditions
Biomechanical disorders may result in foot deformation, painful weight-bearing and potentially nerve compression. In simple terms, this is where your foot and ankle do not have normal bone alignment and motion contr. Here are a few possible conditions related to poor ankle biomechanics.
- Anterior Ankle Impingement (Front of Ankle Pain)
- Posterior Ankle Impingement (Back of Ankle Pain)
- Pes Planus (Flat Feet)
- Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Muscle Injuries
Nerve-Related Ankle Pain
Children & Youth Conditions
Systemic Conditions that may cause Ankle Pain
Soft Tissue Inflammation
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Sources of Calf Pain
The most common sources of leg pain include a calf muscle strain (torn calf), Achilles tendinopathy and leg cramps.
Other sources of calf pain can include the following:
Calf Muscle Strain
Other Muscular Conditions
Achilles Injuries
- Achilles Tendinopathy - (tendinitis/tendonitis)
- Achilles Tendon Rupture
- Retrocalcaneal Bursitis
Shin Pain
Systemic Conditions
Neurological Conditions
Common Causes - Knee Pain
Knee pain can have many origins from local injury, referred pain, biomechanical issues and systemic issues. While knee pain can appear simple to the untrained eye, a thorough assessment is often required to ascertain the origin of your symptoms. The good news is that once a definitive diagnosis is determined, most knee pain quickly resolves with the correct treatment and rehabilitation.
Knee Ligament Injuries
- Knee Ligament Injuries
- ACL Injury
- PCL Injury
- MCL Sprain
- LCL Sprain
- Posterolateral Corner Injury
- Superior Tibiofibular Joint Sprain
Knee Meniscus Injuries
Kneecap Pain
- Chondromalacia Patella
- Fat Pad Syndrome
- Patella Dislocation
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Osgood Schlatter’s Disease
- Sinding Larsen Johansson Syndrome
Knee Arthritis
Knee Tendon Injuries
Muscle Injuries
- Corked Thigh
- Thigh Muscle Strain
- Hamstring Strain
- ITB Syndrome
- Popliteus Syndrome
- Muscle Strain (Muscle Pain)
- Cramps
- DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Knee Bursitis
Children’s Knee Conditions
Other Knee-Related Conditions
- Runner’s Knee
- Plica Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Stress Fracture
- Overuse Injuries
- Restless Legs Syndrome
- Sciatica
Knee Surgery
For specific information regarding your knee pain, please seek the assistance of a healthcare professional with a particular interest in knee condition, such as your physiotherapist.
Thigh Injuries
Muscle Injuries
- Corked Thigh
- Thigh Strain
- Hamstring Strain
- ITB Syndrome
- Muscle Strain (Muscle Pain)
- Cramps
- DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Other Knee-Related Conditions
Tendinopathies
Referred Pain
Common Causes of Hip & Groin Pain
General Information
Hip Joint Pain
- Hip Arthritis - Hip Osteoarthritis
- Hip Labral Tear
- Hip Pointer
- Femoroacetabular Impingement - FAI
- Perthes Disease
- Slipped Femoral Capital Epiphysis
- Stress Fracture
- Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head
Lateral Hip Pain
Adductor-related Groin Pain
Pubic-related Groin Pain
Inguinal-related Groin Pain
- Inguinal hernia
- Sportsman's hernia
Iliopsoas-related Groin Pain
- Hip Flexor Strain
Other Muscle-related Pain
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Muscle Pain -Muscle Strain
- Poor Hip Core
- DOMSÂ -Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
- Cramps
- Core Stability Deficiency
Systemic Diseases
Referred Sources
Hip Surgery
Hip Pain Treatment
A thorough analysis of WHY you are suffering hip pain from a movement, posture, or a control aspect, is vital to solving your hip pain. Only an accurate diagnosis of the source of your hip pain can solve the pain, quickly improve your day to day function, prevent a future recurrence,  or improve your athletic performance. The first choice of short-term therapy has been symptomatic hip treatment. This approach could include local chemical modalities such as cortisone injections or painkillers. Ice or heat could also assist along with some gentle stretching or exercise. However, persisting hip problems will require additional investigations to assess your joint integrity or range of motion, muscle length, strength, endurance, power, contraction timing and dynamic stability control. You should consult a healthcare practitioner who has a particular interest in hip pain and injury management, to thoroughly assess your hip, groin, pelvis, lower limb and spine. Due to the kinetic chain, they all have an impact, especially at the high athletic performance end. A quality practitioner will specifically educate you regarding your condition and combine with exercise and manual therapy as per the Clinical Practice Guidelines. (Cibulka et al., 2017) Hip pain education should also include teaching you specific activity modification, individualised exercises, weight-loss advice (if required), and methods to unload any arthritic joints. Recent research evidence-backed approaches have modernised physiotherapy treatment approaches to effectively managing hip pain. Together with a thorough hip assessment, your hip treatment can progress quickly to restore you to a pain-free hip and perform your regular sport or daily activities in the shortest time possible. For specific rehabilitation advice regarding your hip pain, seek the professional advice of high quality and up-to-date physiotherapist experienced in the assessment, treatment, prevention and optimisation of hip pain and related conditions. After assessing you, they will individually prescribe therapeutic activities based on your specific needs for daily living, values, and functional activities or point you in the direction of the most suitable healthcare practitioner for you and your hip condition.Hip Pain Treatment Options
Your hip physiotherapist may consider an extensive range of treatment options including manual joint therapy to improve your joint mobility, muscle stretches or supportive taping. Your physiotherapist is also likely to add strengthening and joint control exercises as they deem appropriate for your specific functional and sporting needs. Please click the links below for more information about some of the conventional hip treatments that your physiotherapist may recommend or utilise for your hip pain.- Early Injury Treatment
- Avoid the HARM Factors
- What to do after a Muscle Strain or Ligament Sprain?
- Acupuncture and Dry Needling
- Sub-Acute Soft Tissue Injury Treatment
- Closed Kinetic Chain Exercises
- Gait Analysis
- Biomechanical Analysis
- Balance Enhancement Exercises
- Proprioception & Balance Exercises
- Agility & Sport-Specific Exercises
- Soft Tissue Massage
- Dry Needling
- Electrotherapy & Local Modalities
- Heat Packs
- Joint Mobilisation Techniques
- Kinesiology Tape
- Neurodynamics
- Running Analysis
- Strength Exercises
- Stretching Exercises
- Supportive Taping & Strapping
- Video Analysis
- Yoga