What Does It Mean If You Have Burning Legs?
A feeling of burning in your legs can happen with exposure to extreme temperatures or another health condition, including some that affect the nerves. You may experience additional symptoms.
What causes burning legs?
A burning sensation in your legs may have an obvious explanation, like a leg injury or intense exercise. It could also be the result of damage or exposure to extreme heat, cold, or a toxic substance.
A burning feeling in your legs can often be accompanied by:
paresthesia (tingling)
numbness
Some reasons for a burning feeling in your legs aren't as obvious and need a doctor's diagnosis. These conditions include:
Meralgia paresthetica
Meralgia paresthetica occurs when the nerve that provides sensation to the skin on your thigh is compressed. It's also referred to as Bernhardt-Roth syndrome.
The condition often presents as a burning pain on the surface of your outer thigh. The outer thigh may also tingle or feel numb.
Venous reflux
Venous reflux occurs when the veins in the leg aren't properly circulating blood to the heart. It's also referred to as venous insufficiency.
If a leg vein fails, the blood can back up, pool, and leak into the leg tissue. This leads to a hot or burning sensation, often accompanied by discoloration and itching.
Shingles
Shingles is an illness characterized by a painful rash. It's caused when the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) –the virus that causes chicken pox – reactivates in your body. You can prevent shingles by having the 2-dose shingles vaccine (Shingrix).
A shingles rash is often described as a burning pain. The rash may affect any part of your body, including your legs. It often affects one side of the body, but it can appear on both sides.
Peripheral neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy is a loss of function of the nerves that relay signals from the body to the spinal cord and brain. It's often associated with:
diabetes
specific vitamin deficiencies (Vit B1, B6, B9, B12, E)
alcohol misuse disorder
Guillain-Barré syndrome
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Symptoms of MS include sensory disturbances that can lead to burning pain as well as numbness and tingling in the legs. These symptoms are often the result of faulty nerve signals due to MS lesions in the spinal cord and brain.
What are the treatment options for burning legs?
Treatment of burning legs depends on the underlying cause.
Meralgia paresthetica
Most people can expect a full recovery from meralgia paresthetica with conservative management, such as:
lifestyle modification
medications
physical therapy
steroid injections
Medications like aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), naproxen (Aleve), or ibuprofen (Advil) can relieve pain. Shop online for acetaminophen, naproxen, or ibuprofen
If your pain is severe or symptoms don't respond to these treatment options, your doctor might recommend the following to reduce pain:
corticosteroid injections
tricyclic antidepressants
antiseizure medications, such as gabapentin (Neurontin), amitriptyline, or pregabalin (Lyrica)
Surgery to decompress the nerve might be recommended if your pain is very severe and persistent, but this is rare.
Venous reflux
Your doctor may recommend the following when venous reflux is diagnosed early:
Wear compression stockings: Compression stockings put pressure on your legs to help move blood.
Get moving: Avoid standing or sitting for long periods to reduce pressure on your legs. Exercise also helps pump blood.
Take blood thinners: Blood thinners can prevent the formation of blood clots.
If the condition has progressed, your doctor might recommend a procedure to close a problem vein. Doing so forces blood to flow through healthier veins. These procedures include:
Sclerotherapy: Your doctor injects a scarring solution to close the affected vein.
Endovenous thermal ablation: A laser or high-frequency radio waves are focused on the problem vein and close it.
Ligation: Your doctor cuts and ties off the affected vein.
Shingles
If you have shingles, it's important to seek treatment within the first 3 days. Getting treatment early may help prevent long term complications of shingles like chronic nerve pain called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). The treatment for shingles mainly involves managing symptoms and includes medications like:
antivirals
anti-inflammatories
pain relievers (narcotics)
anticonvulsants
tricyclic antidepressants
antihistamines
numbing creams, gels, or patches
capsaicin (Zostrix) to prevent postherpetic neuralgia (nerve pain)
Peripheral neuropathy
Treatments for peripheral neuropathy can include:
Pain relief: Over-the-counter pain medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can ease mild symptoms. Stronger painkillers might be prescribed for more severe symptoms.
Antiseizure medications: Developed to treat epilepsy, antiseizure medications such as gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) may relieve nerve pain.
Topical treatments: If you're looking for a natural option, capsaicin cream may relieve your symptoms.
Lidocaine patches: These patches are applied to the skin and may offer pain relief.
If your case of peripheral neuropathy is more serious, your doctor may recommend the following treatments:
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: Electrodes are placed on the skin to deliver a gentle electric current to relieve symptoms.
Physical therapy: Exercises can strengthen muscles and improve movements.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture uses thin needles pressed through the skin to stimulate healing.
Multiple sclerosis
There's no cure for MS yet, but treatment can manage symptoms in most cases. Treatment focuses on slowing MS progression and minimizing recovery time following flare-ups. Medications to treat MS include:
alemtuzumab (Lemtrada)
dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera)
fingolimod (Gilenya)
glatiramer acetate (Copaxone)
natalizumab (Tysabri)
ocrelizumab (Ocrevus)
teriflunomide (Aubagio)
When to get help
Call 911 or your local emergency services if a burning sensation in your leg suddenly appears and is accompanied by:
weakness or numbness on one side of your body
headache
a change in your level of consciousness
These can be signs that you're experiencing a stroke. It's vital to seek immediate medical attention for a good outcome and quicker recovery.
Takeaway
If you have burning leg pain, it may mean you have one of several medical conditions. It's essential to diagnose the condition you have, so you can get effective treatment.
The most common causes of burning legs, includes:
meralgia paresthetica
venous reflux
shingles
peripheral neuropathy
multiple sclerosis
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