Why does one section of one leg get warm?
July 27, 2009 2:21 PM Subscribe
Why has the left rear quarter of my left leg started to get a "warm feeling" multiple times a day?
It's not hot to the touch, it isn't uncomfortable, there is no redness or strange marks associated with it, but I've noticed for the last couple of weeks a weird "warmness" in one particular spot of my leg. It almost feels like a sitting in a warm sunny spot, but confined to one small portion of my leg. There's no numbness, all sensation seems to be there, it reacts normally to temperature otherwise.
I'm overweight and I've started to run recently, this has (more or less) corresponded with the start of that.
It's kinda starting to weird me out, but as it isn't in any way uncomfortable, and as it's so damn vague, I kinda feel ridiculous going to the doctor about it.
It's not hot to the touch, it isn't uncomfortable, there is no redness or strange marks associated with it, but I've noticed for the last couple of weeks a weird "warmness" in one particular spot of my leg. It almost feels like a sitting in a warm sunny spot, but confined to one small portion of my leg. There's no numbness, all sensation seems to be there, it reacts normally to temperature otherwise.
I'm overweight and I've started to run recently, this has (more or less) corresponded with the start of that.
It's kinda starting to weird me out, but as it isn't in any way uncomfortable, and as it's so damn vague, I kinda feel ridiculous going to the doctor about it.
Response by poster: Hmm, other relevant points I could have mentioned:
I'm 29.
I'm about 15 points over "Average" BMI (although when I was just out of the military and in basically perfect shape, I was still 5 points over BMI, so take that as you will)
It's definitely not "throbbing" and it's never woken me.
But, that being said, I could certainly ask my doctor about sciatica if this continues.
posted by KirTakat at 2:40 PM on July 27, 2009
I'm 29.
I'm about 15 points over "Average" BMI (although when I was just out of the military and in basically perfect shape, I was still 5 points over BMI, so take that as you will)
It's definitely not "throbbing" and it's never woken me.
But, that being said, I could certainly ask my doctor about sciatica if this continues.
posted by KirTakat at 2:40 PM on July 27, 2009
Best answer: I would definitely consider sciatica. I dealt with it off-and-on for a couple of years because of an overuse injury from cycling. It started almost exactly like you describe, with a small patch of my leg feeling unusually warm. Better to go to the doc now and deal with it as early as possible -- mine got a lot more painful and inconvenient later and took a lot longer to treat than it probably would have if I had acted sooner.
posted by dseaton at 3:04 PM on July 27, 2009
posted by dseaton at 3:04 PM on July 27, 2009
Very likely neurological... and, yes, sciatica is a place to start.
posted by bz at 4:26 PM on July 27, 2009
posted by bz at 4:26 PM on July 27, 2009
Long shot but don't count out possible sensitvity to synthetic musk. Did you change shampoos or start using a new cologne lately?
posted by Muirwylde at 5:50 PM on July 27, 2009
posted by Muirwylde at 5:50 PM on July 27, 2009
I had exactly this sensation, in exactly the same spot about a year ago. It would come and go - I'd be turning round to see where that little ray of sun had just come from that was only shining on one side of my calf, and it was never there.
It coincided with a bout of insomnia when I had some prescription sleeping tablets for a couple of weeks. The side effects mentioned something along those lines, so I put it down to that. Once I stopped taking the pills it stopped recurring and hasn't come back.
Perhaps not much help to you unless you've started any new medication recently.
posted by penguin pie at 3:06 PM on July 28, 2009
It coincided with a bout of insomnia when I had some prescription sleeping tablets for a couple of weeks. The side effects mentioned something along those lines, so I put it down to that. Once I stopped taking the pills it stopped recurring and hasn't come back.
Perhaps not much help to you unless you've started any new medication recently.
posted by penguin pie at 3:06 PM on July 28, 2009
Response by poster: Seems to have been a very minor instance of sciatica. For now seems like I just need to make sure I stretch better before/after running and make sure that my bed isn't hurting me when I sleep.
posted by KirTakat at 8:26 AM on August 7, 2009
posted by KirTakat at 8:26 AM on August 7, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Does the feeling "pulse" ? Does it wake you at night from sleep?
google sciatica see if you identify with the very early symptoms of this.
posted by Wilder at 2:31 PM on July 27, 2009