Why does my husband get severe pain after walking for 50 minutes? DR MARTIN SCUR answers your health questions
My otherwise healthy husband gets severe groin pain after walking for about 50 minutes. It radiates down his right thigh and although it subsides when he rests, it soon returns. He had tests to see if it was due to a herniated disc, a spinal disc problem or even a tumor – but they found nothing. What could be the problem?
Barbara Croxen, Menston, West Yorkshire.
This sounds like it could be a condition called intermittent claudication—pain in a muscle or group of muscles brought on by exercise and relieved by a few minutes of rest.
This can affect the buttocks, hips or thighs, but it is usually the calf muscles.
In most cases, this is due to a narrowing of the arteries that supply the muscles in the affected area, causing pain as the muscle is deprived of blood and oxygen.
This sounds like it could be a condition called intermittent claudication – pain in a muscle or group of muscles brought on by exercise and relieved by a few minutes of rest
This can affect the buttocks, hips or thighs, but it is usually the calf muscles
The condition is quite common, affecting about 10 percent of adults over the age of 55. Smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure are the main risk factors.
Although you say in your longer letter that your husband has had tests, he may need a more specific type of checkup, involving a scan of the arteries in his legs to look for signs of narrowing.
This is something that his GP can arrange and if, as expected, it highlights a restriction of blood flow, it can be treated with blood-thinning drugs (such as low-dose aspirin) and reducing the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries (such as statins).
Some patients are also offered a type of bypass, in which a vascular surgeon reroutes blood flow around the blocked area.
However, rest assured that this is only necessary in a minority of cases and, if started early, medication alone is often all that is needed to correct the problem.
For the past three months I have had intermittent twitching in and around my right eyelid. Although this is not painful, it is quite irritating. What can I do?
Name and address provided.
Twitching of one eyelid (rather than both) is medically known as myokymia.
This is a very common, harmless affliction and happens to most of us at some point.
Twitching can range from barely perceptible flickering to visible movement that is obvious to others. It can be related to excessive fatigue, too much caffeine and stress.
Twitching of one eyelid (rather than both) is medically known as myokymia
Some people, far more rarely, develop persistent eyelid twitching – that is, involuntary twitching several times a day, called benign essential blepharospasm, caused by uncontrolled contractions of the eyelid muscle.
A neurological disorder that starts on one side and then progresses to affect both eyes and may become more severe. However, it is very rare.
It seems unlikely that this will affect you, but if your symptoms become more frequent and your other eyelid becomes involved, then you should see a neurologist.
Provided your symptom remains on one side and is intermittent, I expect it will subside.
I suggest you try to get enough sleep and limit your caffeine intake – try caffeine-free alternatives or limit yourself to two cups of tea a day.