Leg pain and numbness can be caused by arthritis, spinal disease, leg injuries, gout, vascular disease, and complications of diabetes. Sciatica and lumbar spinal stenosis are common spinal causes, while deep vein thrombosis is a dangerous type of leg pain that can cause blood clots.
The most common causes of leg pain and numbness include arthritis and complications of spinal disease. Short-term leg pain, usually reversible, results from leg injuries, such as torn muscles, and from brief bouts of gout. Common spinal causes of leg pain and numbness are sciatica, resulting from a slipped disc in the lower spine, and lumbar spinal stenosis. Another source of leg pain is vascular disease, including chronic varicose veins or serious conditions like thrombosis that threaten vital organs along with the legs.
Common leg injuries such as hairline fractures and torn muscles account for sudden leg pain, especially in otherwise healthy patients. Additionally, chronic rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and complications of diabetes can trigger regular or recurrent symptoms. Acute gout causes pain in the knee or ankle joints, which can be crippling during attacks when uric acid crystals build up in the joint. As a result, movement causes severe pain in the legs. Some nerve and soft tissue pain in the leg results from diabetic neuropathies, the gradual destruction of peripheral nerves that accompanies advanced, uncontrolled diabetes.
A common cause of leg pain and numbness is spinal stenosis, increased pressure on the spinal cord due to narrowing of the spinal canal. While spinal stenosis can occur anywhere on the spine, lumbar spinal stenosis affects the nerves inside the legs. Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis report pain, weakness, or numbness in the buttocks and legs. Often, the pain and numbness are most acute when sitting for long periods of time and are partially relieved by walking and changing positions.
Also called lumbar disc disease, sciatica causes leg pain and numbness or tingling that originates in the lower back and radiates down the back of the leg. It comes from a radiculopathy, a disc that has slipped from its normal position in the spine, putting pressure on the root of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. Sciatica is commonly felt on only one side of the body, with pain presenting in only one leg. While it can occur in any age group, sciatica is more common in middle age.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a clot in a large vein in the thigh or lower leg that blocks blood flow and causes pain and swelling. This type of leg pain is dangerous because there’s a risk that a clot will break off and drift into the bloodstream, where it can block blood vessels in the brain or heart. DVTs usually cause tenderness and redness in the affected leg, as well as visible distension of the veins. Less severe but still painful varicose veins are a common source of leg pain and increase the risk of developing DVT.
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