Legs hurt from laying down all day

You don't want anything to disrupt your sleep — especially not leg pain. Try these tips to eliminate aching legs from varicose veins and sleep soundly all night.

Posted by The Iowa Clinic on Tuesday, November 20, 2018

That rest isn’t always easy to come by. Everything seems magnified once you slip under the covers. The normal noises of your house sound louder and are more distracting. Tingles and itches feel more frequent and downright annoying. Thoughts race even though you desperately want them to come to a stop. And pain crops up to keep you from fully relaxing.

Leg pain, in particular, is a common problem at night. Throbbing aches and painful cramps can last for hours as your legs wind down from being up and about all day. That makes it hard to get some shut-eye. Whether you know you have them or not, varicose veins are often the source behind your leg pain and sleepless nights.

What do varicose veins have to do with sleep?

Sitting and standing all day can lead to varicose veins and make the associated leg pain worse. One of the best ways to keep your pain down is to move often. But unless you’re a sleepwalker, that’s not an option in the night.

Your veins are basically blood pumps. Varicose veins are the result of dilated pools of blood under pressure that ache at the end of the day. Elevating at night relieves the pressure of being upright. Legs will ache when getting into bed, but the pain and swelling are usually better by morning. Then the cycle will repeat.

Restless leg syndrome is another common sleep problem. It’s estimated that one in 10 Americans gets unwelcome urges to move their legs at night, as well as other symptoms like tingling, itching, cramping, pain and discomfort. Varicose veins don’t cause restless leg syndrome, but they do make the problem worse, which can make it hard to identify the true source of your sleep problems.

How can I stop leg pain at night?

Sleep is restorative, so it’s important that you get enough of it. And that starts with getting rid of disruptions. There’s little you can do to block out the lights and sounds of a Des Moines night, but leg pain is one disruption you can control. There are several things you can do to ease the nightly aches from varicose veins to catch some Zs:

• Elevate your feet. Put a pillow or folded blanket underneath your mattress. Nothing bulky, just enough to raise the foot-end of your bed three or four inches. This helps relieve the pressure on the veins in your legs and lets gravity pick up the slack in getting blood back to your heart.
• Ease into the evening. Many people are active up until the moment they jump in bed. Start winding down earlier in the evening. Put your legs up and relax so that your veins can calm down before you call it a night. A little leg massage can also help the circulation in your legs and prevent pain later on.
• Do some yoga. Exercise is not encouraged too close to bedtime because it will keep you up — even though it’s the best thing for your veins. But gentle stretching and yoga can help you relax and improve blood flow.
• Drink plenty of water. Hydration is key to healthy circulation. But don’t drink it all right before you lie down — that will lead to other sleep disruptions. Just make sure you’re properly hydrated all throughout the day.

Easing the pain may be enough to solve your sleep issues. But if your problems persist, there are many other options that can get to the root of the problem. Varicose veins are often permanent, making the leg pain when you’re sleeping permanent as well. Varicose vein removal ranges from treatments using heat energy to minimally invasive surgery.

Take the next step toward better vein health.

Fill out our vein assessment form to get in touch with a vein specialist today. They will be able to direct you to one of our board-certified vascular surgeons who will find the most effective treatment for your varicose veins — and eliminate the reason why your legs hurt at night.

Some people write off nightly leg pain as a symptom of getting older, but if you are experiencing nightly leg pain that is interrupting your sleep that could be a symptom of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).

Peripheral Artery Disease is a circulatory disease that is caused by fatty deposits in your artery walls. Those deposits build up and reduce blood flow to your legs or arms. With reduced blood flow, your legs do not get the oxygen they need, and they start to hurt.

More serious cases of PAD can lead to heart attack, stroke, infection, and possible amputation. Ellichman Vein and Vascular Centers are here to help. If you are experiencing leg pain that lasts longer than a few days, you should seek the advice of a medical professional either your primary care doctor or a specialist like Dr. Jonathan Ellichman.

Below you can find more information on PAD as well as Ellichman Vein and Vascular Centers state of the art treatments that will have you feeling better in just 24 hours.

Click here to set up your appointment or call Dr. Ellichman’s office today (901) 479-1063.

What is Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)?

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a circulatory disease in which fatty deposits in your arteries reduce blood flow to your legs or arms. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, an estimated 8.5 million people suffer from PAD and nearly 15% of Americans over the age of 70 have been diagnosed with it.

Symptoms of Peripheral Artery Disease include:

• Leg Cramps
• Legs feel weak
• Legs feel numb
• Legs feel cold
• Legs are an odd color
• Legs feel tight or tingly
• Sores on toes, feet, legs that will not heal

These risk factors can increase your chances of developing Peripheral Artery Disease:

• 50 years old or older
• History of diabetes
• History of high blood pressure or hypertension
• History of high cholesterol
• History of smoking

How can Ellichman Vein and Vascular Centers help?

If you are experiencing these symptoms you should speak with your primary care doctor, or a specialist like Dr. Jonathan Ellichman. Click here to set up your appointment or call Dr. Ellichman’s office today (901) 479-1063.

At Ellichman Vein and Vascular, we can diagnose artery blockages with a noninvasive ultrasound screening, or Ankle Brachial Index. If these tests show that you could benefit from treatment, Dr. Ellichman’s office can schedule you for a minimally invasive treatment in our own office.

The treatment can take as little as 30 minutes and you could be back on your feet feeling pain free in as little as 24 hours.

How do you stop aching legs when lying down?

What are aching legs a symptom of?