Claudication and More Than You Really Wanted to Know About Your Calf/s

So, new article for your edification:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686819/

This one is in:

J Child Orthop. 2009 June; 3(3): 171–178. Published online 2009 May 6. doi:  10.1007/s11832-009-0179-4

PMCID: PMC2686819

Copyright © EPOS 2009

Leg muscle atrophy in idiopathic congenital clubfoot: is it primitive or acquired?

Ernesto Ippolito, F. De Maio, F. Mancini, D. Bellini, and A. Orefice

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Viale Oxford, 81, 00133 Rome, Italy

Ernesto Ippolito, Email: ippolito@med.uniroma2.it, Email: e.ippolito@mclink.it.

Corresponding author.

Received February 25, 2009; Accepted April 18, 2009.

In which:

Conclusions

Our study shows that leg muscular atrophy is a primitive pathological component of CCF which is already present in the early stages of fetal CCF development and in newborns before starting treatment. Muscular atrophy increases with the patient’s age, suggesting a mechanism of muscle growth impairment as a possible pathogenic factor of CCF.

Those skinny calves? They may pre-date the actual club foot/feet, and there is at least some speculation they may lead eventually to a clearer understanding of causation of talipes.

Now, the real question re: intermittant claudication is, is there a connection? To that end, I am runnning for this week's special a simple poll"

Do you ever experience the following symptoms:

"Intermittent claudication is the medical term for pain, numbness, achiness, burning, heaviness or cramping in the legs that occurs during activities such as walking or climbing stairs. You may feel these symptoms in any of your lower limb muscles, including those in the feet, calves, thighs, or buttocks. Intermittent claudication may be localized or diffuse, affecting one or both legs."

In my case, I have had these symptoms several times a year since childhood. As the classic cases do not usually manifest until age 50 or later, and usually in conjunction with other risk factors for peripheral artery disease, this at least suggests the symptoms in my case are a part of the lower-leg atrophy. My symptoms usually disappear within 24 hours, whereas classic symptoms can remain for weeks or months before other blood vessels "take up the slack" for the apparently narrowed artery causing the problem.

Now, I wish to be quite clear here. I cannot say with any certainty there is a direct correlation between the atrophy and the claudication. But. Given that I have had these symptoms since childhood, and that I have a substantial amount of atrophy, it seems unlikely there is not at least some correlation. As I am scheduled for an examination on this specific issue shortly, I will have something more to add in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.