Claudication

Claudication
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Neurology, rheumatology, vascular surgery
ICD-10	I73.9
ICD-9-CM	443.9
DiseasesDB	2777
MeSH	D007383
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Claudication is a medical term usually referring to impairment in walking, or pain, discomfort or tiredness in the legs that occurs during walking and is relieved by rest. The perceived level of pain from claudication can be mild to extremely severe. Claudication is most common in the calves but it can also affect the feet, thighs, hips, buttocks, or arms. The word claudication comes from the Latin claudicare meaning 'to limp'.

Claudication that appears after a short amount of walking may sometimes be described by US medical professionals by the number of typical city street blocks that the patient can walk before the onset of claudication. Thus, "one-block claudication" appears after walking one block, "two-block claudication" appears after walking two blocks, etc. The term block would be understood more exactly locally but is on the order of 100 metres.

Intermittent vascular (or arterial) claudication (Latin: claudicatio intermittens) most often refers to cramping pains in the buttock or leg muscles, especially the calves. It is caused by poor circulation of the blood to the affected area, called Peripheral artery disease. The poor blood flow is often a result of atherosclerotic blockages more proximal to the affected area; individuals with intermittent claudication may have diabetes — often undiagnosed. Another cause, or exacerbating factor, is excessive sitting (several hours), especially in the absence of reasonable breaks, along with a general lack of walking or other exercise that stimulates the legs.

Spinal or neurogenic claudication is not due to lack of blood supply, but rather it is caused by nerve root compression or stenosis of the spinal canal, usually from a degenerative spine, most often at the "L4-L5" or "L5-S1" level. This may result from many factors, including bulging disc, herniated disc or fragments from previously herniated discs (post-operative), scar tissue from previous surgeries, osteophytes (bone spurs that jut out from the edge of a vertebra into the foramen, the opening through which the nerve root passes). In most cases neurogenic claudication is bilateral, i.e. Symmetrical.

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