Three Warning Signs That Leg Pain Is Caused by Cholesterol Accumulation – The ‘First Sign’
High blood cholesterol creates the perfect storm for serious health problems, from heart disease to strokes. Therefore, it is very important to identify the fatty substance and remove it. Fortunately, the three warning signs may contain clues.
Leaving high cholesterol levels to their fate, you provoke the formation of plaque in the arteries.
Plaque is a nasty cocktail of fatty substances, cellular waste, calcium, fibrin, and cholesterol.
When your arteries contain too much of this dangerous mixture, they become narrow and hard.
This creates less than ideal conditions for your blood flow, causing the “first” symptom in the legs.
READ MORE: Your social life may be a ‘significant risk factor’ for developing dementia – new study
The Cleveland Clinic reports that a lack of blood flowing to your legs can sometimes trigger a “common” condition known as peripheral arterial disease, or PAD for short.
The “first symptom” caused by PAD is lameness, which describes muscle pain that can be identified by three telltale signs.
Dull and aching pain
From acute to chronic, pain can come in many uncomfortable forms, but lameness pain is usually dull and aching.
“You may also feel that your muscles are getting tired, or it may feel like a muscle spasm or cramps,” the health portal explains.
Pain occurs during activity
Initially, the pain caused by lameness is intermittent. It only appears when moving.
The more effort or activity you do, the more pain will be felt.
Also, as soon as you stop to rest, the pain should stop within minutes or even sooner.
Affects muscles, not joints
Another key sign of lameness is that it only affects the muscles, meaning it does not cause joint or bone pain.
READ MORE: Ataxia can be an “early” sign of a stroke – may appear up to a week before an attack
“If the pain occurs in one or more joints or lasts for several minutes after you stop to rest, it is more likely that it is not intermittent claudication,” the Cleveland Clinic adds.
In addition to leg pain, PAD can eventually cause other symptoms, including:
- Burning or aching pain in the feet and toes during rest, especially at night, when lying down.
- Great skin on the legs
- Redness or other changes in the color of your skin
- More frequent infections
- Unhealed ulcers on toes and feet.
Unfortunately, PAD does not always cause many noticeable symptoms, making it difficult to identify, as is high cholesterol.
This means that the most reliable way to determine your cholesterol level is through a blood test.
Once your doctor confirms this condition, there are many things you can do to get your cholesterol levels out of the danger zone, from healthy eating to cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.
The cholesterol-lowering diet aims to reduce your intake of saturated fats. But increasing your intake of soluble fiber can also help lower levels.
Other helpful lifestyle changes include cutting out alcohol, quitting smoking, and increasing exercise.
The Sarpy County – Latest News:
Omaha Local News || Nebraska State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Tech News || Lifestyle News
