Leg Pain and Other Warning Signs of DVT Blood Clots | Blog

If you have an area on your leg that has been cramping frequently, feels hotter than the rest of your leg, and seems discolored, you should reach out to your doctor. Call the experts at South Valley Vascular at 1-559-625-4118 or one of our other four locations. Leg pain can be a symptom of so many disorders; contact us to ensure you get the correct diagnosis.

What Is DVT?

Deep Vein Thrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms in one of your major veins. The biggest fear is that the blood clot in the leg will break loose and go to the lungs, heart, or brain. Symptoms of DVT are:

• Swelling in the leg or the area of the leg blood clot
• Pain in the leg that starts like cramping, then gets progressively worse
• Red or discolored skin on the area of the clot
• A feeling of warmth on the skin over the area of the leg pain

Who Is at Risk for DVT?

• People of any age can develop DVT but after age 60 the risk increases.
• Being overweight. Use this NHLBI BMI Calculator to determine your BMI.
• Smoking, pregnancy, and birth control increase your risk.
• People with heart failure, IBD, cancer, and some cancer treatments
• People with an Injury, who just had surgery, are on prolonged bed rest, or sit for extended periods like long flights
• Have a family history of DVT

How Is DVT Diagnosed?

At South Valley Vascular, our surgeons order ultrasounds to examine the arteries and veins of the legs. We have two different ultrasounds, the standing venous reflux ultrasound and the lower extremity arterial duplex ultrasound, that our physicians choose from depending on your individual needs and the pain in your legs. Here is more information on these two ultrasounds:

• Standing Venous Reflux Ultrasound: This is the most frequently ordered test by our physicians for patients with varicose veins and pain in the legs. It can identify abnormal valves, vein disorders, blood clots in the legs, and varicose veins.
• Lower Extremity Arterial Duplex Ultrasound: This is the main test for patients with Peripheral Artery Disease, which results from a lack of blood flow to the legs and feet. It can evaluate the leg arteries for narrowing or blockages.

Your doctor may recommend treatment or further testing based on the ultrasound results. He may recommend:

• simple treatments such as compression stockings and prescription medication.
• vein ablation, which can be done in the office with little downtime
• an angiogram, which is a series of X-rays of your arteries that can identify any unusual narrowing or blockages. At South Valley Vascular, angiograms are performed in the office surgery center by a highly specialized team. Depending on the results of your procedure, your physician may be able to treat your problem right away.

For some people, Deep Vein Thrombosis can be life-threatening, but for others, it is not very serious. Many people have blood clots and they do not even know it. But don’t take that chance. If you have any symptoms, be sure to get checked. Contact one of our offices at 1-559-625-4118 or South Valley Vascular.

Ask the Doctors: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) | Department of Surgery

When the human body is injured, several complex chemical processes occur to help the body recover. Venous blood clots occur naturally when blood cells and strands of protein called fibrin clump together to stop bleeding after a blood vessel has been injured. Eventually, a clot forms a protective scab over a healing wound. When this blood clot does not go away, it is called a thrombus. When clots are in the deep veins like that of the leg, a dangerous condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can occur.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one third to one half of people who develop DVT will have long-term complications, such as a pulmonary embolism (PE).

“DVT in the leg is the most common type of venous thrombosis, and it can cause serious illness, disability and in some cases death,” says Luis Sanchez, MD, Chief of Vascular Surgery. “Almost anyone can develop this serious and preventable disease, making it incredibly important to know the risk factors and warning signs if you or a loved one develops a DVT.”

To increase information awareness of this serious condition, Washington University vascular surgeons answer patient questions regarding DVT.

DVT: Frequently Asked Questions

What is deep venous thrombosis?

Deep venous thrombosis or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot forms in one or more deep veins, usually in a person’s lower leg and thigh. The clot may interfere with circulation in this area, and it may break off and travel through the bloodstream, or embolize. The embolus could lodge in the brain, lungs, heart, or other areas, causing severe damage to that organ. When DVT breaks off and travels into a lung, it is called a pulmonary embolism (PE) and is often fatal.

What are the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis?

DVT symptoms may only occur in one leg and include pain, tenderness, swelling, or increased warmth or changes in skin color. The pain may begin in the calf and feel like cramping or soreness.

What causes deep vein thrombosis?

Damage to a vein from surgery or trauma and inflammation due to infection or injury are some of the most common causes of DVT.

Risk factors for DVT include prolonged sitting, bed rest, immobilization (such as a long plane ride or car trip), recent surgery or trauma (especially hip, knee, or gynecological injury or surgery, fractures, childbirth within the last six months, and use of medications containing estrogen, such as the birth control pill).

Other diseases also increase the risk of blood clots; these include malignant tumors, polycythemia vera, and inherited or acquired blood-clotting disorders. DVT is seen more commonly in adults over the age of 60 but can occur in any age group.

How is venous thrombosis different from arterial thrombosis?

Understanding how blood flows throughout the human body can help you differentiate between the two main types of thrombosis: venous thrombosis and arterial thrombosis.

Veins carry unoxygenated blood that must flow through the lungs before going to the heart and the rest of the body. Venous thrombosis occurs when a blood clot blocks a vein. Arteries, or blood vessels, take the lead in carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the brain. When a blood clot blocks an artery, this is called arterial thrombosis.

How do you treat superficial venous thrombosis?

Superficial venous thrombosis (SVT) occurs when the veins just below the skin of the legs, arms, or groin have minor clotting. The skin in these areas becomes red, swollen, or painful after a slight injury and may require treatment. However, these types of clots do not usually travel to the lungs unless they reach the deep veins.

Primary treatments for SVT include the use of warm compresses or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain medications (NSAIDs), elevating legs during rest, wearing compression stockings, and maintaining an active lifestyle. Inflammation normally goes away but it may take several weeks for lumps and tenderness to completely subside. In some cases of extensive SVT or in instances where patients are at risk of developing a DVT, patients are given anticoagulants (prescription drugs to help prevent blood clots) or clot busters (drugs that help dissolve blood clots that have formed).

How can you prevent deep vein thrombosis?

Patients can take practical steps to reduce the risk of developing a DVT. Individuals should avoid sitting still and crossing their legs after any type of surgical procedure. If traveling long distances by car, stop every hour to walk around and encourage blood flow. If traveling by plane, stand up and walk in the aisle occasionally; if unable to walk, do heel-toe exercises or rotate feet in a circular motion. Additionally, follow self-care measures to keep risks of heart failure, obesity, diabetes, or any other health issue as stable as possible.

What does deep vein thrombosis feel like?

You may be experiencing a DVT if you feel pain in only one leg. This pain may often start in your calf and feel like cramping or soreness. Additionally, the skin of this leg may be red or discolored and feel warm to the touch. The pain may also worsen when bending the foot. However, some people with a DVT do not experience any symptoms.

Can you check for deep vein thrombosis at home? If so, how?

The only way to diagnose a DVT with 100% certainty is to contact a physician. They may perform a blood test and Venous Doppler ultrasound exam to the leg to visualize the vessels to make a diagnosis.

If you suspect you have developed a DVT, you may also use what is referred to as the Homan’s sign test. To conduct this test, extending your knee in the leg you want to check. Once your knee is in position, you will want someone to help you raise your leg to 10 degrees. Next, have them passively and abruptly squeeze your calf with one hand while flexing your foot with the other. Deep calf pain and tenderness may indicate the presence of DVT.

It is important to note that the Homan’s test has low sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing DVT, but it can be valuable in addition to diagnostic procedures performed by your physician.

Is deep vein thrombosis pain constant?

Yes—The cramping sensations and pain that occur with DVT will persist and even worsen with time. Stretching or “walking it off” like an ordinary charley horse will not ease DVT pain or clear it up.

Can deep vein thrombosis go away on its own?

Though the clots associated with DVT often dissolve on their own, some diagnosed with DVT may need treatment to avoid serious and fatal complications such as pulmonary embolism.

Blood-thinning medications help break up the clots, but surgery may be needed to restore healthy circulation. Surgeries to relieve DVT include open thrombectomy, catheter-directed thrombolysis, and vena cava filter placement.

What does deep vein thrombosis look like?

Physical indicators of DVT include swelling and inflammation of the lower leg and calf, redness, and warmth to the touch.

How long can you have deep vein thrombosis without knowing?

DVT can present with no symptoms or pain, which makes it difficult for physicians to recognize or diagnose. When symptoms of DVT appear, they usually occur suddenly, and patients are encouraged to seek medical attention as soon as they identify anything out of the ordinary. Get immediate health attention if you have pain, swelling, and tenderness in your leg and you develop breathlessness and chest pain as you may have a DVT that developed into a pulmonary embolism.

Can deep vein thrombosis cause a stroke?

DVT may not directly cause a stroke. Strokes occur when the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain is cut off. The arteries, or blood vessels, carry oxygenated blood to the brain from the heart. The blood in your veins, however, is deoxygenated and must flow through the lungs before going to the heart and the rest of the body.

Who do I contact to learn more about deep vein thrombosis?

The Section of Vascular Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine offers the full spectrum of surgical care for patients with DVT and other vascular diseases.

To make an appointment, please contact one of the Vascular Surgery Section’s physicians:

• Nathan Droz, MD
• Sean English, MD
• Gerald Fortuna Jr. , MD
• Patrick Geraghty, MD
• Vipul Khetarpaul, MD
• J. Westley Ohman, MD
• Nanette Reed, MD
• Brian Rubin, MD
• Luis Sanchez, MD
• Robert Thompson, MD
• Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD

Pain in the hip joint | Network of clinics “Hello!”

Why does the leg hurt in the hip joint

There are quite a lot of articular and extra-articular ailments that lead to pain syndrome. Among them:

• coxarthrosis;
• arthritis of various nature;
• pseudogout;
• Koening’s disease;
• fractures, dislocations, bruises;
• tendinitis;
• myositis;
• bursitis.

1. Inflammation of the tendons of the hip abductors, terminologically termed tendonitis, attacks those who put a lot of stress on the joint through sports or physical labor. If the leg is not heavily loaded, then the pain may not be felt
2. Bursitis, compared with other pathologies that affect the hip joint, is considered the most uncomplicated. With this disease, the articular bag becomes inflamed, pain occurs on the outside of the buttocks
3. Myositis is also an inflammatory disease, but the abductor muscles are involved in the process. The cause may be overload, infection, injury. If left untreated, the muscles atrophy, and you can move your leg very limitedly
4. Deforming arthrosis is a real scourge for those who have crossed the forty-year life line. It develops slowly, at first it practically does not bother, but by the last stage the joint loses its ability to move. Pain in the hip joint with this pathology begins to disturb at the second stage of the development of the disease. The person is in pain all the time, the muscles are tense
5. Arthritis in all its variety can also be the cause of pain. The disease is autoimmune, has an unclear etiology and is treated very poorly. It is manifested by pain in the groin, on the side of the leg to the knee, it hurts more when walking. Reactive and tuberculous arthritis are caused by infections entering the joint. Because of this, it quickly becomes inflamed, swollen, the patient has obvious signs of fever, the pain is acute, even a light touch on the joint causes it
6. Pseudogout is characterized by calcium deposits in various joints, ligaments, cartilage. The disease leads to hardening of the shell of the hip joint. Due to the accumulation of calcium, the joint becomes inflamed and deformed. The pain syndrome is indicative: it rolls in attacks up to day
7. Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is classified as hereditary, affecting boys. The articular cartilage of the femoral head is necrotic due to circulatory disorders. The child suffers from pain all the time, which becomes stronger with exertion. Due to the deformity of the head of the bone, articulation movements are severely limited
8. Tumor formations of various nature also lead to pain syndrome.

Pain in the hip joint: which doctor should I go to?

It is obvious that the number of pathologies that lead to pain or numbness of the hip cannot be treated by one specialist. Most likely, you should contact a traumatologist or rheumatologist. It is possible that a consultation with a surgeon is required. Due to the fact that the pain “shoots” in the groin, buttocks, lower abdomen, a person can be referred to a neurologist. So, coxarthrosis “masquerades” as sciatica, problems with nerve roots, herniated discs. But the reverse situation is also possible, when neurological pathologies are suspected, but an articular disease is detected.

Women often cannot differentiate the cause of pain in the groin – inflammation of the appendages or disease of the joints. A visit to the gynecologist will bring clarity. A urologist will help men determine if there are any prostate pathologies.

Diagnostic measures

In medical practice, a well-coordinated scheme has been developed, the use of which allows you to absolutely determine why the hip joint hurts, what to do and how to treat it.

During the first visit, the doctor’s task is to take an anamnesis. A person is asked about lifestyle, physical activity, find out if there were any relatives suffering from joint diseases. An external examination of the joint and its palpation are also carried out. In the presence of inflammation, this will help narrow the circle of hypothetical ailments that give pain.

Further, various laboratory tests and instrumental examinations are assigned. As a rule, resort to:

• tomography;
• radiography;
• endoscopy.

You will need immunological and microbiological blood tests, a test for rheumatoid factor. You may need to examine the synovial fluid of the joint.

Methods of treatment

Due to the fact that pathologies are quite diverse, they cannot be treated according to a single scheme. For example, inflammation of the hip joint, its symptoms and treatment will be different from the work of a doctor with an injury. In the event of a fracture or dislocation, a rheumatologist or surgeon will prescribe immobilization of the joint. In infectious and purulent pathologies, it is necessary to take a course of antibiotics.

Inflammatory and degenerative diseases require the use of the following groups of drugs:

• non-steroidal;
• diuretics;
• chondroprotectors;
• muscle relaxants;
• vitamin complexes.

At the same time, the treatment is long, carried out in several courses, which can last several years. In addition to drug therapy, a person performs exercises, makes efforts to reduce weight, undergoes physiotherapy procedures. If it is not possible to help the patient with conservative methods, surgical methods have to be used.

How does the hip joint hurt, what symptoms characterize diseases that can cause pain, we have considered the methods of traditional treatment. However, various joint diseases have been known to man for many thousands of years. Therefore, traditional medicine has developed a significant amount of knowledge on how to help a patient who is concerned about the joints. Of course, herbal medicine, lotions, compresses, ingestion of decoctions and tinctures cannot be the main method of treatment, but doctors recommend it as an additional to the main therapy. Himself, without consulting a specialist, you can’t drink or apply anything, because there is a danger of getting an allergy, a burn, or simply wasting time and effort without getting results.

Treatment of pain in the hip joint with folk remedies helps to get an anesthetic effect, strengthen the body. Most often, alternative medicine offers public components: burdock roots, pork fat, garlic, cinquefoil, dandelion, leaves of berry bushes, buds and fruits. For example, the usual rosehip broth is a storehouse of vitamin C and an excellent diuretic that removes excess fluid and unnecessary salts, reducing the load on the legs and heart.

We specialize in the treatment of the musculoskeletal system, even in advanced disease stages. We have been helping thousands of patients avoid surgery for 10 years!

• Our doctors

This is the strongest team of experts that teaches at the PFUR department. We are the clinical base of leading universities, where the best doctors in Moscow, unique specialists in Russia and abroad graduate.

• Standards

Experts and teachers of our network, together with leading Israeli specialists, have developed unique treatment protocols based on approved medical standards of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Causes of pain in the hip joint

Statistics show that a large percentage of people periodically experience pain in the hip joint. The very manifestation of such a feeling can be both age-related and become the result of chronic diseases or injuries.

The hip joint in the human body is one of the most stressed. He is regularly in motion, forced to withstand a strong extraneous impact. At the same time, although it is distinguished by enviable strength, it requires a really careful attitude, adherence to the correct lifestyle and regimen of motor loads.

For its treatment, specialists use modern methods that allow the causes of discomfort not to develop into a chronic stage. However, correct diagnosis also plays an important role in eliminating the causes of pain.

Causes of pain in the hip joint

According to doctors, pain in such a mobile joint is quite difficult to diagnose. Often, symptoms are observed in both adults and children. There are several main reasons for this condition:

• Injuries. Bruises, tears, sprains, fractures, cracks. In this case, the patient himself can often establish the source of the disease, as he listens to his feelings.
• Diseases. Piriformis syndrome, bursitis, chondromatosis, tenosynovitis, osteoporosis, osteonecrosis and many others. Diseases affect both the joint itself and the ligaments, surrounding tissues, muscles. Regardless of the affected area, the patient will feel discomfort in the hip area. Identification of the cause is a more difficult task that requires the use of modern diagnostic methods.
• Various causes of radiating pain. Often, pain in the hip joint also occurs when other organs are diseased (for example, the spine or groin area).
• Diseases of a systemic nature. Fibromyalgia, leukemia, spondylitis and many others. In this case, a systematic approach to the treatment of the patient is also being developed.

It is worth noting the fact that early diagnosis of the causes of hip joint disease is a big step towards organizing correct and timely treatment.

Symptoms

Pain in the hip joint can be of a different nature: constant, aching, stabbing, intermittent during exercise. Often the situation develops in such a way that discomfort is accompanied by the appearance of inflammation, accumulation of fluid in the joint, loss of mobility and clicks that can be clearly heard when moving.

Method of treatment

In order to properly build the treatment process, professionals need to develop an integrated approach to solving the problem. First of all, pain and inflammation are eliminated, for which a certain group of drugs is often used. In addition, physiotherapy is used. Patients who suffer from pain in the hip joint are prescribed the correct diet and physical activity. In restoring the motor ability and eliminating the pain of the mobile joint, the correct behavior of the patient himself plays a very important role, which is required to comply with the doctor’s instructions and the correct treatment regimen.

By contacting our clinic, you can get qualified assistance. The use of high-quality modern methods of treatment allows our specialists to reduce pain and inflammation. Work with patients is carried out using an individual approach – for us, each case is unique and requires the most careful consideration. Since the hip joint is a complex mechanism in the human body, we pay special attention to the diagnosis of its condition and the causes of pain. With us, you can always count on receiving qualified treatment, as well as affordable prices and special conditions for various groups of patients.