What is Rest Pain?

Rest pain also known as Critical Limb Ischemia, is the constant burning pain you may experience in the lower leg, feet or toes. Other symptoms of rest pain include open sores that won’t heal, gangrene and shiny skin on the legs and feet. The pain becomes worse when lying down or when reclining in a chair. Rest pain is a more severe case of claudication. Claudication is when the arteries in your legs become damaged,  partially or fully blocked. The damage and blocking is due to the accumulation of cholesterol plaque.

Why do I have rest pain?

Rest pain can be the result of certain lifestyle activities. These activities include age, diabetes, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, and family history of claudication.

How many people are affected by rest pain?

It is estimated that 14 out of every 100,000 people suffer from rest pain each year. Currently over 1 million Americans are diagnosed with rest pain, while an additional 2 million are undiagnosed. With an aging population prevalent in the United States the number of individuals affected with rest pain is expected to increase to 3.5 million by 2020. Rest pain affects people mainly over the age of 65. With age the risk factor of developing rest pain increases.  Due to the commonality of rest pain there are many treatments available.

Helpful tools in combating rest pain without a doctor:

The most successful way of preventing rest pain is by addressing the risk factors of it. Smoking is a major risk factor of rest pain. By reducing or stopping smoking you are able to significantly reduce the chances of developing rest pain. Obesity and diet play a role in rest pain by causing the blockages in arteries. Working out and maintaining a healthy diet are important in living a healthy life. Copy and paste the link to read more on at home workouts.

What happens if your rest pain goes undiagnosed?

If you do not seek medical attention, rest pain can increase to severe pain. Paralysis can happen in your legs particularly starting in the calf. Your legs may develop gangrene and if medical attention is still not sought the leg/legs will need to be amputated.

Treatment for rest pain:

There are several medications that can be prescribed to prevent progression of the disease. The medications will reduce the risk factors contributing to the rest pain.

Angioplasties can be done to open the blockages in your arteries. An Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure. It is performed by inserting a collapsed balloon into the artery. The balloon is the inflated to a fixed size and forces the expansion of the artery wall. This improves the blood flow in the artery.