Lower Leg Injury Help Needed

[Patrick Craddock]

Hi, I used to be an amateur runner, hiking aficionado. Over the last year I've had increasing pain in my right lower leg. With 5 minutes of running, 1/2 hour of downhill hiking, or 4 hours of flat walking, I get a horrific pain. The pain is in the posterolateral aspect of my calf (the outer backside), just below my fibular head (the smaller bone, on the outside of the leg, a couple of inches below the knee). At first it is an ache, and it feels it will work itself out. Then it becomes tighter and tighter until it is a really painful deep pain, and starts hurting all the way down my leg. First, what the heck is it? Second, how do I fix it? I have to fix this so I can get back in the mountains!

[Zack Karas]

Go to a doctor. Seriously. Pain is your legs way of telling you something is wrong, and your 'horrific pain' is your leg shouting at you. Listen.

[Matt Lutz]

Zack +1.

[David Chenault]

It is worth your time finding a good specialist with experience in sports/outdoor injuries. Even if you have to drive to another city to find one.

Back in my road running days I got a nasty case of IT band syndrome that persisted for over a year because I faffed around with docs and chiros that didn't really know what they were talking about. I found a good doc who referred me to a really good physical therapist, who got to the root of the problem (muscle imbalances), and I've been problem free for over five years with a little preventative work.

This sort of thing is really worth doing right, costly and inconvenient though it may be at first.

I hope you get it sorted out soon, I shudder to remember how frustrating my experience was.

[Author]

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