In some cases, the pain may be too intense to walk. A calf muscle contusion , otherwise known as a bruise, happens when blood vessels under the skin are torn or ruptured. As a result, the blood vessels leak into the muscle tissues. This type of injury often occurs after a person falls, bumps into something, or is struck on the calf.
Typically, a contusion leads to skin discoloration, along with tenderness or severe pain. Swelling may also limit your ability to move as you normally would.
With rest and rehabilitation, blood beneath the skin will reabsorb into your body as the contusion heals. However, contusions can occasionally lead to a hematoma —a pool of blood under the skin. Most hematomas heal on their own. But in severe cases, your healthcare provider may order a surgical procedure to drain the blood, particularly if they suspect there is a risk of infection.
The soleus muscle plays an important role in lifting the heel off the ground. It also stabilizes your posture as you walk or run, preventing you from falling forward. This muscle is particularly key for runners; consequently, soleus muscle strain is a common overuse injury in endurance running.
If you have a soleus muscle strain, you may feel deep soreness or tightness when you press on your achilles tendon, walk on your tiptoes, or pull your toes toward your shin.
Many runners do not notice any particular incident that caused their soleus strain. Rather, symptoms tend to develop over time, beginning with calf muscle fatigue. Swelling, bruising, and sharp pain may worsen until it is too difficult to run at all. Plantaris muscle ruptures happen when a lot of body weight is suddenly placed on the ankle while the knee is extended.
You may feel a sudden, snapping pain in the back of your leg when the injury occurs. Bruising, pain, and swelling may take a few minutes, hours, or even days to develop after the injury occurs.
Some people may also have cramping in their calf muscle. Fortunately, this injury should also heal on its own. Muscle-related calf injuries are common in athletes. They can happen suddenly or develop over time, and you may not feel pain right away.
Most calf muscle injuries heal on their own with adequate rest. While muscle injuries are the most common cause of calf pain, there are others that may stem from nerve problems, knee joint problems, or foot and ankle conditions. You are more likely to need medical attention or physical therapy if you have an injury in this category. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. It is located on the back side of your leg and connects your calf muscle to your heel bone. When the tendon becomes irritated , usually due to overuse, you may feel a burning pain in the back of your leg, usually just above your heel.
You may also have calf pain and stiffness. This is known as Achilles tendinitis. A torn Achilles tendon is referred to as a rupture. When the tendon tears, you may have severe, sudden pain in the back of your leg. You may also have difficulty bearing any weight on your leg at all. Some people also hear a "pop" when the injury happens.
Blood clots can form in the deep veins of the leg—a condition known as deep vein thrombosis. This can cause swelling, redness, warmth, and a tender, cramping pain in the calf. Certain conditions increase a person's risk of developing a blood clot, such as:. A blood clot is a very serious cause of calf pain. Without treatment, the clot can sometimes travel to the lungs pulmonary embolism and be life-threatening.
A Baker's cyst is not a true cyst. It is a collection of knee joint fluid that pools in the back of the knee. This is common in people who have arthritis. If a Baker's cyst ruptures, the fluid may leak down into the calf region, causing an aching pain in the calf, along with swelling. Nerve entrapment happens when calf nerves become compressed by the surrounding tissues. This is often referred to as a pinched nerve , and it can happen due to overuse or sudden trauma.
The nerve that is most prone to nerve entrapment is the peroneal nerve. When this nerve is pinched, you may feel numbness, tingling, and sharp pain in the leg or the top of the foot.
In severe cases, peroneal nerve entrapment can lead to foot drop —difficulty lifting the front of your foot due to muscle weakness. The popliteus tendon wraps around your knee joint, connecting your thighbone to your popliteus muscle.
Your popliteus tendon and popliteus muscle work together to rotate and stabilize your knee. Popliteus tendinitis happens when the tendon is inflamed, usually due to overuse. It causes pain just above the calf and in the back and side of the knee. The pain worsens when walking or running downhill. In rare cases, the popliteus tendon can also tear. This is an acute injury that is usually caused by trauma, such as a direct blow to the inside of the knee. The injury causes pain and bleeding into the knee joint.
Popliteal artery entrapment happens when the gastrocnemius muscle places pressure on the popliteal artery—an artery in the back of the leg and the knee.
This can restrict blood flow in the legs. The condition may be congenital present at birth or it may develop over time. It is commonly seen in young athletes, as their popliteal artery becomes compressed while their body is still growing.
The symptoms of popliteal artery entrapment can include cramping, tightness, and pain in the calf, particularly after a vigorous lower leg workout, such as cycling or running. Peripheral artery disease can reduce blood flow in the arteries of the lower legs , leading to claudication cramping pain during activity.
This is due to narrowed or blocked arteries in the mid-thigh or the knee. Some people experience pain in their leg while lying in bed at night—this is a sign that the condition is getting worse. A bone break or fracture in one of your lower leg bones the tibia or fibula may be caused by falling or by a traumatic blow to your leg, such as a car accident.
This injury may cause severe calf pain. Additionally, your lower leg may be quite swollen, making it difficult to walk or bear any weight on your leg. A complete bone break can cause your leg to look deformed.
This can also happen if the broken bone does not heal properly. To prevent this from happening, you may need a cast or, in some cases, surgery. Bone infection osteomyelitis is rare. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection that spreads to the bone. This infection may start in the bone itself or spread to the bone after an injury, such as a fracture.
With this condition, you may have constant, dull calf pain. There may also be a sensation of warmth along with redness and swelling in your leg. Some people develop a fever. Conditions that affect your legs' arteries, nerves, tendons, muscles, or bones can cause calf pain. Some non-muscle related injuries are life-threatening; go to a hospital if your pain starts suddenly without any apparent cause.
If you are unsure of the cause of your symptoms, or if you do not know how to treat your condition, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Your treatment will depend on the specific cause of your calf pain. Some signs that you should be seen by a healthcare provider include:. To diagnose your calf pain, a healthcare provider will likely perform a physical exam and ask you about your medical history. They may also order imaging tests, such as an X-ray, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging MRI. Sometimes, blood tests are also needed.
Prior to your healthcare provider's visit, it's a good idea to jot down a couple notes about your calf pain. You may write about when it started, what it feels like, and whether you have any other symptoms like numbness or swelling. These details will help your healthcare provider pinpoint the cause. In addition to asking about the specifics of your calf pain, your healthcare provider will want to know if you have any health problems.
Be sure to tell them about any recent injury or trauma you may have had. During the physical exam, your healthcare provider will inspect and press on palpate your lower leg in order to look for signs of swelling, tenderness, warmth, and discoloration or redness. They may also check your reflexes and feel for your pulse in your leg, ankle, and foot.
Lastly, they will maneuver your foot, ankle, and knee to see how well you're able to move it. They will likely perform other special tests if they suspect a certain diagnosis.
An example of a special test that healthcare providers use to evaluate calf pain is the Thompson test. For this test, the patient lies flat on an exam table with their foot hanging over the edge. A healthcare provider will then squeeze the patient's calf muscle. You may experience nerve pain during the night as the pressure of sleeping in a particular position may aggravate or cause compression of a nerve.
This pain may not occur during your daily activities. Neuropathies cause damage to the nerves, resulting in altered sensations or increased sensitivity. Often movement can help with your nerve pain. Performing gentle movements to encourage the muscles to warm up through improved circulation can be an effective way to ease your symptoms. There are other treatment options available too, which our podiatrist or your doctor can help in finding the best option for you.
Your uterus is also putting extra pressure on the veins responsible for carrying blood back from your lower body. This partially blocks the blood flow, keeping the fluid in your legs and feet, which causes them to become swollen and tired. Gentle stretching and massage can help to relieve the tightness and fatigue felt through the legs and feet maybe from a kind partner or friend! If this is not effective, our podiatrists can also help with these issues by prescribing specific exercises, giving advice on footwear, educating about these common issues, and offering custom orthotics to offload the high pressure areas.
Gout causes intense pain and swelling around the joints often starting in the big toe. It is triggered by a chemical reaction, causing the deposit of urate crystals in the impacted joint. Attacks usually occur when you have been consuming certain foods and drinks that are high in purine. It will often flare up when people drink beer or red wine and rich foods such as cheeses and red meats.
Seemingly, we often see a higher incidence of gout after major events like the State of Origin or Super Bowl, where people are likely to let loose on indulgent food and drink. As gout occurs due to an out of balance chemical reaction in the joint, it often needs specific medicine to ease the symptoms, so we recommend seeing your GP.
If chronic recurrent attacks occur you may develop secondary osteoarthritic changes in the affected joint. This is where our team of podiatrists can help you manage that painful joint. Many causes of lower leg pain are not serious and something that our podiatrists can address and treat. Click here to learn about our home visit services across South East Queensland.
Are you getting aching legs at night? A person should always check with their doctor before beginning a stretching routine to ensure the stretches will not aggravate an injury. A person should seek emergency medical treatment if they suspect they have DVT. The symptoms of DVT include pain, swelling, and warmth in one leg. These include:. If a person has concerns about bothersome or ongoing calf pain, making an appointment to see a doctor can help provide peace of mind.
A doctor will carry out a physical examination to determine whether a pulled or strained muscle is the problem. If the doctor finds that the issue is more severe, they may order a musculoskeletal ultrasound scan. An ultrasound would be able to identify the following:. Read the article in Spanish. Outer thigh pain has many possible causes, and it can vary in severity. Learn about the most common causes and their treatments here.
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The causes of sharp, shooting leg pain range from mild injuries and cramping to more serious issues affecting the arteries or nerves. Learn more here. What causes calf muscle pain? Medically reviewed by William Morrison, M. Causes Treatment Stretches When to see a doctor Diagnosis We include products we think are useful for our readers.
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