Leg pain & PAD
Leg pain when you walk? It could be your arteries — and it's treatable.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) means the arteries in your legs are narrowed or blocked. We reopen them through a pinhole — no general anesthesia, home the same day.
Medically reviewed by Joel R. Rainwater, MD
Does this sound like you?
Common signs of PAD
If you check even one of these, it's worth a simple, painless ultrasound to find out what's going on.
- Cramping in your calves, thighs, or hips when you walk — that stops when you rest
- Feet or toes that feel cold, even when the rest of you doesn't
- Sores or cuts on your feet or legs that are slow to heal
- Numbness or weakness in your legs or feet
The good news
How we treat it — without surgery
Think of a blocked leg artery like a clogged garden hose. Instead of cutting the hose open, we go inside it.
Through a pinhole in your wrist or groin, your doctor guides a tiny tube to the blockage. A small balloon gently opens the artery (that's called angioplasty). If there's hardened buildup, a tool no wider than a pencil lead shaves it away (that's atherectomy). Blood flows again — and the pain that stopped you from walking starts to fade.
You're awake but relaxed the whole time. Most people are surprised how easy it is.
What to expect
Your day, step by step
No surprises. Here's exactly what happens before, during, and after.
First, you meet your doctor and talk through your symptoms. Then we map the blood flow in your legs with an ultrasound — it's painless, like the scan used in pregnancy. Together, you and your doctor decide if a procedure makes sense. We verify your insurance benefits before anything is scheduled.
The procedure itself takes about an hour. Your doctor works through a pinhole in your wrist or groin — no cutting, no stitches. You get light sedation, so you're comfortable and calm, but you're not under general anesthesia. Many patients chat with the team during the procedure.
You rest with us for 2–4 hours while we make sure everything looks good. Then you walk out and go home — the same day. Most people are back to their normal activities within days, not weeks. We schedule a follow-up to check your progress, and your referring doctor gets a full report.
What this means for you
Keep walking on your own legs
Restoring blood flow relieves the cramping that cuts your walks short — so you can go farther, comfortably.
Back to your life in days, not months
No hospital stay, no long recovery. Most people return to normal activity within days.
Sleep, energy, and independence
Better circulation often means less nighttime pain, faster-healing feet, and the freedom to do things on your own.
Your questions, answered straight
The things people actually want to know
Yes, but comfortably. You get light sedation — enough to feel relaxed and at ease, without being "put under." There's no breathing tube and no general anesthesia. Many patients tell us the waiting-room nerves were worse than the procedure.
You'll feel a small pinch when we numb the skin — about like a flu shot. After that, most people feel pressure at most. The entry point is the size of a pencil tip, so there's no incision pain afterward like there is with surgery.
You'll need someone to drive you home the day of your procedure because of the sedation. Most people can drive again the next day — your doctor will confirm what's right for you before you leave.
Yes — Medicare and most major insurance plans cover these procedures. And you won't have to guess: we verify your benefits before anything is scheduled and tell you exactly what to expect, so there are no surprises.
PAD usually doesn't get better on its own — walking tends to get harder, and slow-healing sores can become serious. The encouraging part: treating it early is simpler, and most people feel the difference quickly. A painless ultrasound is all it takes to know where you stand.
The doctor who reviewed this page
Joel R. Rainwater, MD
Chief Medical Officer · Endovascular & Interventional Oncology · Board-certified
Dr. Rainwater leads CiC's limb-preservation program. His focus: keeping patients walking on their own legs.
Request appointment with Dr. RainwaterFind out what's going on — it starts with a painless ultrasound.
Same-week appointments are usually available.
For clinicians: referral criteria & technical detail
Interventions offered: angiography with angioplasty (POBA/DCB), directional and orbital atherectomy, and stenting for aortoiliac, femoropopliteal, and tibial disease, performed in an office-based lab under moderate sedation. CLTI cases are prioritized for limb preservation with same-week access.
Consider referral for: lifestyle-limiting claudication refractory to exercise/medical therapy, rest pain, non-healing lower-extremity wounds, ABI < 0.9, or abnormal arterial duplex.
Workup we handle: ABI/TBI, arterial duplex, CTA coordination, and full pre-procedure risk assessment. Your office receives the complete report and imaging summary through the CiC physician portal.