<s>[INST] Hi, I m a 25 year old female, I get sudden, severe pain in the lower part of my legs (below the knees, goes down till the ankle/toe). It occurs just any time and I feel like pressing it continuously. Mostly, it s in one leg at a time and if not pressed properly, it continues till night/next day morning or even longer. The female who massages my legs (at times of pain) says, she can feel hard muscles at the time of the start of the massage, but, she works on it, so that it softens. Please suggest what should I do? [/INST] Hi, Thank you for providing the brief history of you. As per my understanding what I feel is you need to do two things - one is to check the straight leg raise, if in performing this movement you get pain then you need to check the MRI of the lumbar spine. Also, in either case taking an MRI of lumbar spine will help insight to the internal structures of the spine and understand if any impingement is present. Spinal nerves have two functions - motor and sensory, and any impingement in the nerve will disturb the sensory or motor system. Next it is advised to undergo the Doppler of the lower limbs to rule out any varicose veins issue. Once ruled out, a physical therapist will help you with Therapeutic ultrasound therapy and TENS therapy for pain management. Based on the pain levels, the exercises will be performed. Also, to understand that the spinal nerve pathology is sometimes misdiagnosed and later on it comes back with higher degree of pain, where the recovery takes longer time. So as said, prevention is better than cure. Act now so the worry for future stays down. As, you are undergoing massage therapy, the massage will help to improve the blood supply and provide the soothing effect, if any varicose vein issue is there, in that case massage is contra-indicated as it may worsen the situation. I have seen many patients in my daily practice and most complains are similar, but the diagnosis comes at the early stage by looking at the MRI. And most of my patients are 100% benefited at the early stage of diagnosis and physical therapy. RegardsJay In Chat Doctor.  </s>