Leg pain when sleeping is a symptom that responds to different causes, which can affect the muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels or joints in the area. Discomfort may appear occasionally or permanently, and especially when they appear at night they can prevent us from enjoying a restful sleep. In addition, other discomforts such as stitches, burning, or cramps may be involved.
If you have wondered why do your legs hurt when sleepingIn this oneHOWTO article we focus on explaining the causes that can explain this problem.
Why do my legs hurt when I sleep – Causes
Leg pain or soreness may be due to multiple causes, like the following:
- Fluid retention.
- Bad postures.
- Injuries
- Muscle cramps.
- Restless Leg Syndrome.
Therefore, before a burning in the legs, it is best consult with the doctor, especially if in addition to pain we feel numbness in the hands and legs.
Next, we will go on to explain in detail each of the possible causes that explain why my legs hurt when I sleep.
Leg pain in bed due to fluid retention
It is probably one of the leg ailments that affects women the most. Fluid retention produces swelling in the area leading to symptoms such as burning or pricking in the legs.
The main causes of fluid retention are:
- Pregnancy
- Obesity
- Renal insufficiency
- Heart failure
- Venous insufficiency
- Liver failure
- Menopause
- Lymph gland problems
How to eliminate fluid retention in the legs
There are a number of ways to treat fluid retention. However, one of the most effective is pressotherapy, a natural technique that consists of applying pressure in certain areas to achieve various benefits, such as the elimination of liquids. In fact, pressure therapy can be performed at home with SIZEN’s professional pressure therapy machines, which are used even by elite athletes.
Leg pain at night from bad posture
If you feel pain in your legs when you sleep, it may be due to poor posture. As happens when we are asleep for a long time on our arm or leg and the blood circulation stops, sleeping for a long time in a certain position can lead to discomfort in the leg. These discomforts can derive from muscle, blood vessel, bone or joint discomfort and, in general, should be corrected by adopting a more comfortable posture.
Why do my legs hurt? – Injuries
An injury may cause your legs to ache when you sleep but may not be detected at the time it occurs. Some minor injuries they can go unnoticed when it happens and have symptoms later. These are some of the ones that can hide behind leg pain when sleeping:
- Muscular fatigue. Exercising without the proper warm-up or high intensity exercises can cause overloads in the muscles that later manifest with pain in the legs.
- Inflammation of the tendons. As in the previous point, a lack of stretching to prepare the muscles, bones, tendons and joints can cause an inflammation of the tendon that generates discomfort.
- Fissures. It is the breakage of a part of the bone but it does not imply its total partition, so it can go unnoticed. However, it usually causes pain if we do not keep the area immobilized.
If you suspect that you have some kind of leg injury, it is important to see a doctor urgently.
Leg pain from squids in the muscles
Another reason why you wonder “why do my legs hurt when I sleep” is muscle cramps. In this case, it is possible that there are different factors that are causing the discomfort at night:
Lack of potassium
When potassium levels in the blood are lower than normal, that is, between 3.5 and 5.3 mEq / L, the body can react by causing leg cramps. This happens because this mineral plays an important role in the functioning of the nervous system, this discomfort being one of the symptoms. So if you feel pain in your legs when you sleep, consider eating foods that are richer in potassium.
Dehydration
It is not necessary to emphasize the importance that water has in the correct functioning of the organism. Especially if you have done any type of physical activity and you have not drunk water before, during and after it, the pain in the legs can be a consequence of a lack of hydration in your body. This symptom can manifest itself at night, at which time physical fatigue may appear more intensely after having subjected the body to physical strain. So if you’ve ever wondered why your legs hurt when you sleep, remember to drink water throughout the day, even if you don’t feel like it.
Restless leg syndrome – another cause of leg pain
It is a neurological problem characterized by triggering unpleasant sensations in the legs, and it is one of the reasons why the legs hurt when sleeping, and not during the day. As a consequence, the person suffering from this disorder feels a virtually uncontrollable urge to move your legs affecting the quality of sleep. If you want to know more about this problem, we recommend that you consult the symptoms of restless legs syndrome, in this way you will be able to detect other possible signs that indicate if you suffer from this neurological disorder.
Other causes of leg pain when sleeping
If you keep wondering why my legs hurt when I lie down, it may also be due to one of these reasons:
- Herniated disc
- Benign tumors
- Cancerous tumors
- Osteoporosis
- Osteosarcoma
- Legg-Calve-Perthes disease
Home remedies for leg pain when sleeping
If your legs hurt when you sleep, you can apply some natural remedies that will help relieve the discomfort.
- Ice. The cold is a great ally to reduce swelling, promote blood circulation and relieve pain.
- Apple vinager. It is a perfect home remedy in the event that the legs ache at night as a result of the physical activity that our daily activities involve. Apply it on the legs, massaging gently for a few minutes.
- Natural oils. They are another effective way in case you feel pain in your legs at night. With them you will be able to relieve swelling, stimulate blood circulation and relieve discomfort. We recommend rosemary or geranium oil.
Check out this article for more information on home remedies for leg pain relief.
This article is merely informative, at oneHOWTO we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Why do my legs hurt when I sleep, we recommend that you enter our category of Diseases and side effects.