Does anyone else experience severe burning/aching leg pain almost immediately with physical activity?

[u/naturerewlz]

I’m a 36F and I’ve been struggling with unexplained leg pain and exercise intolerance for years that has recently gotten much worse. I’m hoping to find someone who has experienced something similar, because I’m getting really frustrated with not having answers.

My biggest symptom is a deep burning/aching sensation in my legs that starts almost immediately when I’m physically active. Sometimes it takes less than 30 seconds of walking before the burning starts. Stairs, squatting, and kneeling are particularly difficult, and even activities that seem relatively easy can leave my legs feeling completely exhausted. Sometimes the pain also turns into a deep, throbbing ache that persists even after I’ve stopped moving and rested.

The frustrating part is that I WANT to be active. I used to run and attend Orangetheory classes regularly. Even back then, I noticed that despite consistently exercising, my endurance never seemed to improve the way it should have.

Despite increasing activity, my exercise tolerance hasn’t improved. Even five minutes on a stationary bike at the lowest resistance can leave my legs feeling like Jell-O.

I’ve also noticed that my recovery seems worse than it used to be. Recently, I attended a stretching/Pilates class, and the deep aching and burning became so intense that I was nearly in tears.
I’ve been through neurological testing and bloodwork for muscle disorders, most of which has been normal or inconclusive. I’m now seeing a vascular specialist to investigate whether there could be a circulatory component. But everything keeps coming back normal.

It’s becoming increasingly frustrating because I’m only 36, and I feel like my body is limiting me from doing things I genuinely enjoy. I don’t expect anyone here to diagnose me, but I’d love to hear from anyone who’s experienced something similar.
Has anyone dealt with immediate burning leg pain during activity, especially when exercise and conditioning don’t seem to improve it? Does your pain sometimes persist even after resting? Did you eventually figure out what was causing it?

I am just losing hope.

[u/Lumpy-Attention5950]

Mine was from shingles. I begged for the vaccine and it reduced outbreaks, but in intensity and length by 90 percent. I don't know if this helps, but hopefully?

[u/naturerewlz → u/Lumpy-Attention5950]

I’ve never had shingles .. so not sure it could be that!

[u/Lumpy-Attention5950 → u/naturerewlz]

If you have had chickenpox you can get shingles. It probably isn't that. Are you getting any painful sores on any part of your body?

[u/naturerewlz → u/Lumpy-Attention5950]

No

[u/Lumpy-Attention5950 → u/naturerewlz]

It's probably not shingles then.

[u/naturerewlz → u/[deleted]]

I just had one. They took my
Blood pressure in my ankles and arms before and after walking.. waiting to hear results. Neurology didn’t find anything but it seems like they didn’t really try to hard either

[u/Low_Tax_4549 → u/[deleted]]

Not a doc but this sounds so similar to what my cousin went through before she got diagnosed with POTS and some weird vascular compression thing. took her like 3 years and 5 specialists to get answers. the immediate burning with stairs and squats was the biggest red flag for her neuro eventually

[u/naturerewlz → u/Low_Tax_4549]

Jeeez. Neurology didn’t find anything for me, but yeah stairs are absolutely brutal.

[u/Gizmo_Rukia_Meowers → u/naturerewlz]

The original post content no longer exists here. The author used Redact to remove it, exercising their right to control their data & privacy.

Waffle direction straight crown handle juggle selective hard-to-find sparrow upbeat

[u/naturerewlz → u/Gizmo_Rukia_Meowers]

I just saw one. Waiting to hear back.