PrudentRx Program Common leg conditions that may affect the health and productivity of your employee

Common leg conditions that may affect the health and productivity of your employees, and the best insurance options Legs are made up of bones, blood vessels, muscles, and other connective tissues. These are important for motion and keeping you upright. Although some symptoms may be specific to the legs, others can suggest trouble with your heart, kidney, nervous system, or some other organ. Pain is very common with most leg conditions. Leg pain is a common occurrence after an injury, medical condition, or due to some non-traumatic reasons.

Leg pains can be classified as: Muscoskeletal pain: It is caused due to straining of muscle, tendon or ligament. Example includes crepitus, which is characterized by a popping of cracking sound in the knee.

Vascular pain: Examples of vascular pain include peripheral artery disease (PAD) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Neurological pain: Your legs will twitch uncontrollably. Neurological pain can be present in the patient even when they are resting.

Your legs may develop a variety of pains and diseases due to various reasons. Pain in your legs can be sharp, tingling, numbing, aching, burning, or radiating. It can also occur due to injury or inflammation of any of the structures of the legs, such as leg muscles, bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments. Pain your legs can also radiate from other parts of the body, and manifest in the leg.

Your legs can develop pain and diseases due to a variety of reasons, such as:          

Broken leg Gout Broken leg Muscle strain Sprains Bruising Muscle cramp Leg swelling Infection Reactive arthritis

Besides pain, your legs can develop many other diseases. Common diseases of the legs include: Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): Your legs won’t get enough supply of blood due to the narrowing down of arteries. Your legs will feel weak and numb, or cramps when you walk. Some people may feel coldness in their legs, and also change in color.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): The patient develops a blood clot, usually in the thigh or lower leg. The condition doesn’t always cause symptoms, but some people might feel pain, swelling and redness in the legs.

Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI): The disease is commonly caused by the failure or degradation of the valves in your veins.

Peripheral Neuropathy: The nerves in the legs are damaged. The person will not feel the sensation of pain due to the inability to relay messages to and from the brain. The most common cause of peripheral naturopathy is diabetes. Other health conditions such as injuries, medicines, and infections can also cause the disease.

Diagnosis and treatment for leg diseases Diagnosis and tests for leg diseases include the Ankle Brachial Index (ABI), and X-ray exams of the upper and lower legs. Some common symptoms of CVI include varicose veins and spider veins.

Invasive surgeries can be used to repair damaged veins and arteries in your arteries and veins. Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart and supply it to your various body parts including legs. Veins carry deoxygenated blood back from your legs and other body parts to the heart for purification.

Vascular surgeries involve grafting a blood vessel from elsewhere in the body to the area affected by the disease. Vascular surgery is typically reserved for the most severe cases of vascular diseases.

Some newer treatment options are now available for the treatment of leg diseases: Atherectomy procedure: It involves the mechanical removal of plaque or other blockages in the arteries of legs. The procedure is accomplished by the surgeons using specialized medical devices.

Angioplasty procedure: A balloon is deployed and inflated in the diseased vessel to increase blood flow.

When the procedure is performed in the artery, it is called angioplasty. When it is performed in the veins, it is called venoplasty.

It is important for the employees to stay active and healthy. If your employees suffer from leg pain or other diseases, there will be more sick leaves, less productivity, and less profit. As such, it is important for you to get your employees covered against health conditions. If you are not sure of which health insurance to get for your employees, you can consult the experts of PrudentRx Program who will prepare the best plan for you for CVS copay optimization and other copayment optimizations. The experts will also help you in choosing the best medication from the PrudentRx dug list so that they are able to get coverage for the maximum number of medications that they need. For more information, refer PrudentRx FAQs where you will find answers to most of your questions.