Tired, Heavy Legs
The sensation of legs that feel weighed down or quickly fatigued can transform simple daily activities into exhausting challenges. While occasional leg tiredness after strenuous activity is normal, persistent heaviness and tiredness under normal conditions, or that worsens throughout the day, often signals an underlying vein disorder.
At Prevosti Vein Center, Dr. Louis Prevosti applies over 30 years of cardiovascular experience to identify and treat the circulatory problems that cause leg fatigue, helping patients regain energy and mobility.
What Causes Tired, Heavy Legs?
Leg heaviness typically develops when your circulatory system struggles to return blood efficiently from your lower extremities to your heart. The most common culprit is chronic venous insufficiency, a condition where damaged valves in your leg veins allow blood to flow backward and pool in the lower legs. As blood accumulates, you feel the weight of that extra blood, which creates the sensation of heavy legs.
In addition to blood pooling, venous insufficiency can cause additional clear fluid to build up in the tissues of the leg, further enhancing the feeling of heaviness. Another factor may be that pooled venous blood is deoxygenated and under increased pressure, which may create an environment that’s less than ideal for optimal muscle function.
Understanding the Progression of Symptoms
Many patients describe their leg heaviness as feeling like they have invisible weights strapped to their legs or that their legs feel like tree trunks. In many patients, the symptoms are minimal in the morning and get progressively worse throughout the day. Standing or sitting for extended periods can intensify the heaviness, while elevating the legs often provides temporary relief. For other patients, the heaviness and tiredness can develop as soon as they get out of bed.
The feeling of leg fatigue goes beyond simple tiredness from activity. Some patients report that their legs feel exhausted even without significant physical activity. Climbing stairs can become increasingly difficult, and by evening, the heavy sensation may be accompanied by aching, swelling or restlessness. On rare occasions, patients may also feel a general, overall sense of fatigue. Without treatment, these symptoms progressively worsen as venous insufficiency gradually worsens.
Sometimes patients will think that their tired, weaker, achy legs are part of the aging process, but that is not the case. While muscle strength and maximal physical effort decline over the latter decades of life, age alone does not cause tired, heavy, achy legs with normal activity.
How Dr. Prevosti Diagnoses the Cause of Leg Heaviness
Your evaluation at Prevosti Vein Center begins with a review of your medical history and symptoms, followed by a focused physical examination. Dr. Prevosti pays particular attention to risk factors that commonly contribute to venous insufficiency, including family history of vein disorders, occupations requiring prolonged standing or sitting, multiple pregnancies, previous blood clots and other factors.
The cornerstone of diagnosis is a detailed ultrasound examination performed right in the Canton office. This specialized imaging maps out the veins and determines which veins are functioning normally and which veins are not. With this detailed information, Dr. Prevosti creates a targeted treatment plan tailored to your condition.
Dr. Prevosti's decades of cardiovascular experience enable him to recognize other causes of leg symptoms as well as venous insufficiency. Lymphedema, peripheral arterial disease, nerve and lower back disorders, and other medical conditions can cause leg weakness and tiredness. Depending on his analysis, Dr. Prevosti will guide you in the right direction.
Treatment Options for Tired, Heavy Legs
Dr. Prevosti offers the following minimally invasive treatments designed to eliminate the source of leg heaviness by restoring proper circulation:
- Radiofrequency ablation: Using controlled thermal energy delivered through a thin catheter, this technique seals malfunctioning veins from within. Blood naturally reroutes through healthy vessels, reducing pooling and relieving that heavy sensation.
- Endovenous laser ablation: Similar in approach to radiofrequency ablation, this method uses precise laser energy to close problematic veins.
- VenaSeal™: This innovative approach uses a medical adhesive to permanently close diseased veins without heat energy.
- Varithena®: When injected into affected veins, this FDA-approved foam medication causes them to collapse and seal, redirecting blood flow through healthier vessels.
All procedures are performed in Dr. Prevosti's comfortable Canton office using local anesthesia. Most treatments take 30 minutes or less, and patients walk immediately afterward and return to their regular activities within one to two days.
Restore Your Energy at Prevosti Vein Center
Living with perpetually tired, heavy legs limits your ability to enjoy daily activities and maintain an active lifestyle. Dr. Prevosti's focused dedication to vein care, combined with his compassionate approach and extensive experience, helps patients find relief from these burdensome symptoms.
Contact Prevosti Vein Center today to schedule your evaluation and rediscover what it feels like to move through life with lighter, more energetic legs.