Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pauses at the casket of former President Ronald Reagan as he lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda on June 9, 2004, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Yes, perhaps many of the causes are not severe, but there are conditions that should cause concern and require immediate consultation with a physician. Throbbing leg pain could be caused by sciatica. The sciatic nerve is the longest of all the nerves in our body. This nerve originates from the lower back and proceeds all the way down to the thighs of each leg and to the feet. The sciatic nerve supplies sensation to the leg.
But as Dow's case shows, it can happen throughout the body. When it does, it's called peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. And in some people, PAD causes leg pain that acts as an 'early warning' that someone is at high risk for a heart attack or a stroke, says a University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center expert. Leg pain could be a sign of possible peripheral arterial disease.