Why Do My Legs Feel Weak and Heavy? 8 Possible Causes of Leg Heaviness

Hypokalemia is a medical condition that occurs when you have minimal potassium in your blood flow. Potassium deficiency can lead to leg heaviness, leg weakness, leg cramps, constipation, fatigue, and numerous other symptoms.

If you have poor blood circulation, the veins in your legs have a harder time carrying blood toward the heart (against the force of gravity). As such, blood may flow backward and accumulate in the leg veins, leading to leg heaviness and leg pain.

Varicose veins are dense blood vessels that bulge out of the skin’s surface, looking like a mass of twisted, tangled, and knotted ropes. They’re essentially blood vessels with excess blood accumulation, so they can make your legs feel achy, heavy, and tired.

Pregnancy leads to numerous physiological changes that apply more pressure on your legs. Increased pressure on your veins, fluid retention, and hormonal changes may lead to leg heaviness and aching sensations. You may also develop varicose veins.

Chronic venous insufficiency is the root cause of most vein problems that cause leg heaviness, including leg cramps, varicose veins, and weak blood circulation. The valves in your veins are responsible for ensuring one-way blood circulation to the heart against the force of gravity. When your vein valves collapse or malfunction, blood flows backward and accumulates in the leg veins, eventually leading to vascular dilation and varicose veins. The continued accumulation of blood in leg veins leads to leg heaviness and leg swelling.

If you want to alleviate leg heaviness at home, you need to take certain measures to improve blood circulation towards the heart. Since weak blood circulation is at the root of leg heaviness, you need to focus on improving blood flow to the heart. The following lifestyle changes and alleviate leg heaviness and improve your symptoms:

• Wear compression stockings to push the accumulated blood towards the heart. Compression stockings also prevent more blood from pooling in your leg veins.
• Engage in cardiovascular activities, such as running, swimming, cycling, and yoga. These exercises improve blood circulation and engage your calf muscles, pushing some of the accumulated blood to your heart.
• Elevate your legs above your heart’s level while sitting down. When you elevate your legs, gravity forces some of the blood to flow towards the heart.
• Don’t sit or stand still for long periods of time because blood will flow into your leg veins and cause leg heaviness. If you have a desk job, take short breaks to walk around and stretch your legs — you should be active for at least 5 minutes every hour.

You should consult a vein doctor if you have any of the signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, such as leg heaviness, weak and heavy legs, leg pain, leg swelling, frequent leg cramps, spider veins, varicose veins, or skin discoloration. Even if the symptoms don’t seem bad, you should contact a vein doctor before vein disease progresses further, leading to advanced complications, such as leg ulceration and deep vein thrombosis.

Lifestyle changes may alleviate the symptoms of leg heaviness temporarily, but they don’t treat the root cause of your problems. If you’re prepared to alleviate leg pain and improve your quality of life, please schedule an appointment today.