Generality
Thigh pain is a symptom related to different conditions.
Among the possible causes of pain in the thigh, in fact, include: musculoskeletal problems, neurological conditions and even a serious blood circulation disorder known as deep vein thrombosis.
Thigh pain usually occurs in association with other symptoms, which vary depending on the cause.
The treatment of thigh pain depends on the factor at the origin of the pain sensation: to heal it is necessary to act on the causal factor, identified after a scrupulous diagnostic investigation.
Short anatomical reference of the thigh
Seat of the femur, the thigh is the upper region of the lower limb lying between the pelvis (or pelvis ), proximal, and the leg, distally.
Also referred to as the upper section of the lower limb, the thigh has, as an upper limit, the articulation of the hip, and, as a lower limit, the knee joint.
Along the thigh, numerous muscles (including the femoral quadriceps, adductors, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, etc.), ligaments and tendons find their place .
- The hip joint (or simply hip) joins the proximal end of the femur to the iliac bone (ilium, ischium and pubis).
- The knee joint (or simply knee) connects the distal end of the femur to the tibia, that is the bone that together with the fibula constitutes the skeleton of the leg (lower section of the lower limb).
What is thigh pain?
" Thigh pain " is the expression that the painful sensation felt in a well localized point or in a large area of the lower limb section including the hip and the knee; in other words, it is the way to define the pain along the upper limb tract where the femur resides.
Thigh pain is a symptom, such as headaches, coughs etc., so it is a sign of some health problem.
Causes
Thigh pain recognizes several causes; among these causes, it is worth mentioning and investigating:
- Fatigue in the thigh muscles ;
- Injuries to the thigh muscles ;
- Paraesthetic meralgia ;
- Peripheral neuropathy ;
- Deep venous thrombosis ;
- Trochanteritis .
While they deserve a simple signaling: ileotibial bandella syndrome, sciatica (or sciatica), cruralgia and lumbocruralgia
Fatigue of the thigh muscles
To understand…
According to the most traditional of anatomical descriptions, the thigh muscles can be divided into 3 main groups:
- The group of muscles of the anterior compartment of the thigh, to which belong the quadriceps femoris (vast lateral, broad intermediate, vast medial and rectus femoris), the sartorius, the pettineo and the ilio-psoas;
- The group of muscles of the medial (or internal) compartment of the thigh, which includes the gracilis, the external obturator, the short abductor, the long abductor and the great adductor;
- The group of muscles of the posterior thigh compartment, which includes the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus.
Fatigue of the thigh muscles is only a slight state of muscular distress, in which there are no lesions or other alterations of tone (of the muscles).
As a rule, fatigue of the thigh muscles results from excessive strain of the lower limbs and affects people who engage in physical activities without an adequate degree of previous training.
Injuries to the thigh muscles
Premise: the term "muscle injury" means a condition characterized by an alteration of the tone of the muscle fibers, in less severe cases, or by a lesion of the muscle fibers, in the most severe cases.
There are 3 types of muscle injury: the contracture, which is the type of muscle injury that is less worried, the stretch, which is the type of muscle injury of intermediate severity, and the tear, which is the most serious type of injury ever.
Clinically more important than simple episodes of fatigue, injuries to the thigh muscles are muscular sufferings, which arise from physical efforts that greatly exceed the capacity for contraction of the involved muscle fibers.
People who play sports, where there is a significant use of the lower limbs (eg, running, soccer, rugby, etc.) suffer the most from injuries to the thigh muscles.
Meralgia Parestesica
Also known as Bernhardt-Roth syndrome, paresthesia meralgia is a neuropathy (ie a disease of the nerves), which arises as a result of compression of the lateral cutaneous nerve, a peripheral nerve of the sensory type that passes along the latero-superior part of the thigh .
Among the factors that, according to doctors, can contribute to the appearance of paresthesic meralgia, include: obesity, pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, the habit of wearing clothes that are too tight at the waist level and the presence of a tumor pelvic / abdominal level.
Peripheral Neuropathy
"Peripheral neuropathy" is the medical term for any morbid condition resulting from damage and malfunction of one or more nerves of the peripheral nervous system (peripheral nerves).
The possible causes of peripheral neuropathy are numerous; of these causes deserve a special mention: diabetes mellitus, severe alcoholism, severe vitamin deficiencies, chronic kidney diseases, chronic liver diseases, hypothyroidism, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Lyme disease and amyloidosis .
Did you know that ...
When peripheral neuropathy is due to diabetes, it is called diabetic neuropathy .
Diabetic neuropathy is one of the so-called chronic complications of diabetes mellitus.
Deep Venous Thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is the medical condition that results from the formation of a thrombus in a deep vein of the human body.
With a preference for the venous system of the lower limbs - in particular that of the thigh and leg - the deep vein thrombosis represents a very dangerous circumstance for the human being, because it can block the blood flow along the involved vein and / or originate emboli, which, after reaching the heart by exploiting the venous circulation, can obstruct the pulmonary artery and cause the phenomenon of pulmonary embolism .
Among the causes / risk factors of deep vein thrombosis, there are: clothing that is too tight, old age, maintaining a static position for long periods of time, obesity, the use of the contraceptive pill, predisposition genetics to thrombotic phenomena, a sedentary lifestyle and smoking .
trochanteric
Premise: on its proximal end, the femur has an important prominence, which takes the name of great trochanter and on which some thigh and hip muscles are inserted, with their tendons, (eg: external obturator, small buttock, middle buttock etc.).
Also known as the painful syndrome of the great trochanter or trochanteric bursitis, the trochanteritis is the inflammation of the synovial bursae located above the great trochanter, to protect the tendons of the muscles that have insertion on the surface of the just mentioned femoral prominence.
Trochanteritis can be the result of:
- Accidental falls on one side, with particular involvement of the hip;
- Accidental bumps between the hip and objects such as doors, furniture, etc .;
- Hip bruising in sports;
- Lying sideways on a hard surface for a long period of time;
- A functional overload of the hip (it is a typical situation for those who practice sports such as running, cycling or walking in the mountains in an inappropriate way or without an adequate previous training).
Risk Factors: who suffers the most from thigh pain?
Thigh pain is a symptom that can affect anyone at least once in a lifetime; however, statistics say that this type of pain is more frequent in:
- People who practice sports in which the use of the lower limbs is widely used (eg: running, soccer, cycling, etc.);
- Obese or overweight individuals;
- Diabetes patients;
- Pregnant women;
- Subjects tending to a sedentary lifestyle.
Symptoms
Depending on the triggering cause, thigh pain can be more or less intense and worsen or remain unchanged during use of the lower limbs; again, depending on the factors that caused it, then the pain in the thigh can be acute, burning, mild but persistent, alternating with moments of apparent healing, pulsating, subject to tightening if the painful area is subjected to pressure, etc.
Associated symptoms
Very often, thigh pain occurs in association with other symptoms ; the exact nature of these symptoms is strictly dependent on the triggering cause (in other words, the symptoms that accompany a pain in the leg vary in relation to the causal factor).
FATIGUE OF THE THIGH MUSCLES
To thigh pain, fatigue of the thigh muscles can combine a difficulty and a sense of heaviness in moving the affected lower limb.
To remember…
Fatigue in the thigh muscles is not at all a serious condition; however, in very active people (eg: those who practice sports regularly), it is a signal not to be underestimated, because it could lead to muscle injuries.
INJURIES TO THIGH MUSCLES
For thigh pain, injuries to the thigh muscles tend to associate:
- Sense of soreness in the thigh;
- Muscle spasms at the level of the sore muscle;
- Difficulty moving the affected lower limb or, in the most severe cases, real lameness ;
- Formation of a hematoma at the painful area (more severe cases);
PARESTHESIA MERALGIA
In addition to thigh pain, paresthesia meralgia is responsible, always along the anatomical tract of the femur, for tingling and numbness.
Did you know that ...
Thigh pain produced by paresthesia meralgia is a burning type pain.
PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY
A thigh pain resulting from a peripheral neuropathy may be associated with:
- Spasms and muscle cramps repeated along the thigh and elsewhere;
- Reduction and consequent weakening of the muscle mass of the thigh and other anatomical districts;
- Loss of sensitivity and numbness along the thigh and elsewhere;
- Tingling along the thigh and elsewhere;
- Difficulty of movement and loss of balance ;
- Allodynia (ie pain caused by a stimulus that, under normal conditions, would be completely harmless and without consequences);
- Constipation and diarrhea ;
- Difficulty bladder emptying ;
- Sexual dysfunction (eg, erectile dysfunction in humans);
- Intestinal incontinence ;
- Etc.
DEEP VENOUS THROMBOSIS
A thigh pain resulting from an episode of deep vein thrombosis is typically associated with:
- Swelling and feeling of soreness along the thigh;
- Sensation of heat along the thigh;
- Redness or blue coloring of the thigh skin.
What happens when deep vein thrombosis leads to complications?
When deep vein thrombosis results in a pulmonary embolism, the affected person develops unequivocal symptoms, such as: shortness of breath ( dyspnea ), chest pain (especially during deep breaths), cough, cyanosis, dizziness, sense of fainting and alteration of heart rhythm .
trochanteric
To pain in the thigh - pain that, to be precise, affects the upper-lateral area of the thigh - the trochanteritis follows, along the same painful area, a series of disorders, which includes: swelling, redness, heat, sense of joint stiffness (of the hip joint) and soreness.
Diagnosis
When talking about the diagnosis of pain in the thigh, the object of discussion is clearly the identification of the triggering cause, that is the origin of the pain sensation.
Except for the clinically less severe cases (for which it is not always necessary to consult a doctor), research to establish the reasons for a worrying pain in the thigh begins with an inquiry into the associated symptoms, followed by a thorough physical examination and a thorough medical history ; therefore, if the aforementioned investigations were insufficient to reach a definitive diagnosis, they could continue further with imaging (eg: ultrasound and / or magnetic resonance of the painful part), neurological examinations (eg: neurological examination and / or electromyography) and / or blood tests .
The choice of which examinations and tests to follow to the anamnesis is strictly dependent on what emerged from the same anamnesis, from the story of the symptoms associated with thigh pain and physical examination.
Why is it important to find out the causes?
The knowledge of the causes of pain in the thigh is very important, because it allows to plan the therapy through which it is possible to obtain healing (or, at least, an improvement in the symptoms).
Therapy
The treatment adopted in the presence of a pain in the leg varies in relation to the triggering cause .
In practical terms, this means that a thigh pain due to a muscle injury requires treatment other than a thigh pain due to peripheral neuropathy.
In the next section, this article will consider the therapy provided in some of the most important circumstances that cause thigh pain.
Examples of treatment against thigh pain
- If thigh pain is related to fatigue of the thigh muscles, the best remedy is to moderate physical activity, especially that involving the lower limbs, for at least a day, so as to relieve exhausted muscle fibers.
- If the pain in the thigh is the result of an injury to the thigh muscles, the treatment plan certainly includes a period of rest, the precise length of which varies according to the severity of the muscle problem (a contracture takes from 3 to 7 days; a stretch about 15 days, a break at least 1 month), and could include, depending on the case, some medical therapies (eg: tecarterapia) or physiotherapy.
- If thigh pain is due to peripheral neuropathy, the patient will benefit from an appropriate treatment of the cause of what damages the nerves and alters their functioning (ie the cause of peripheral neuropathy); moreover, it will benefit enormously from pain management through special drugs, other than the classic painkillers (eg: paracetamol or NSAIDs), such as for example: gabapentin or pregabalin antiepileptics, amitriptyline and nortriptyline antidepressants or cream capsaicin.
- If the pain in the thigh is related to a deep vein thrombosis, the therapy could be, depending on the progress of the condition, pharmacological (thrombolysis), surgical (thrombectomy) or mechanical (intermittent pneumatic compression, elastic stockings or bandages, etc.) .
Prognosis
In general, a pain in the thigh that is the result of a clinically insignificant condition heals quickly, without special treatment and without consequences; on the contrary, a pain in the thigh resulting from a serious health problem or from a hardly treatable disorder presents a more uncertain course, studded with complications (sometimes even serious ones) or long therapies.
In essence, therefore, the prognosis in case of thigh pain depends strictly on the triggering factor.
