Calf muscle pain is a common complaint and isn't usually cause for alarm. But sometimes pain in your calf is a sign of a more serious condition, such as problems with the blood vessels in your leg. Seek help if the pain developed without activity or persists even with rest.
Calf pain is usually caused by cramp, when the muscles suddenly contract. This might happen if you have been doing new exercises, if you are dehydrated, or if you are deficient in some minerals. Cramps normally go away quite quickly by themselves.
Contact your GP, or phone 111 if your GP practice is closed, if: you have had trauma affecting your calf or ankle more than 7 days ago. your calf is hot, swollen and tender. you have pain that's worsening despite following self-care advice.
Get to the emergency room right away if you experience cramps in the legs that occur with swelling, pain, warmth and tenderness.
Signs that you may have a blood clot
leg pain or discomfort that may feel like a pulled muscle, tightness, cramping or soreness. swelling in the affected leg. redness or discoloration of the sore spot. the affected area feeling warm to the touch.
A calf cramp can commonly present in both legs, where as a blood clot will usually appear in one spot. A DVT will often present with pain, redness, heat and a palpable lump, whereas a strain or muscle cramp will be painful but doesn't always have redness or heat radiating from the area.
Sometimes, though, that calf pain is a sign of something more than inflammation. Cramping pain in your legs and calves could be a sign of cardiovascular disease.
Snapping or popping sensation in your calf. Sudden pain in the back of your lower leg, like someone kicked your calf. Swelling and bruising in your calf muscle. Visible indentation beneath the skin where the muscle is torn.
Leg Pain Can Indicate Risk for a Heart Attack or Stroke
Peripheral artery disease that causes leg pain can be indicative of heart issues. People that have PAD are at a higher risk of having a stroke or heart attack. This could be a sign that the coronary arteries are blocked and the blood flow is reduced.
Vascular pain often feels like an uncomfortable heaviness or throbbing sensation. It can also feel like an aching sensation. It usually affects your legs and can be worse with walking or exerting yourself.
The Thompson test examines the integrity of the Achilles tendon by squeezing the calf. It is performed as a clinical test to identify the presence of a complete Achilles rupture.
Symptoms of DVT (deep vein thrombosis)
throbbing pain in 1 leg (rarely both legs), usually in the calf or thigh, when walking or standing up. swelling in 1 leg (rarely both legs) warm skin around the painful area. red or darkened skin around the painful area – this may be harder to see on brown or black skin.
Does blood clot pain come and go? Unlike the pain from a charley horse that usually goes away after stretching or with rest, the pain from a blood clot does not go away and usually gets worse with time.
Your muscles need more oxygen when you are walking or exercising. If you stop walking or exercising, the muscles will need less oxygen again and the pain will wear off. If you get this type of pain, you should go and see your GP.
Sometimes, leg pain can signal something more serious like a fracture, deep vein thrombosis or compartment syndrome. Seek medical attention urgently if: the leg is swollen. it looks deformed or you can't use it properly.
What does fibromyalgia leg pain feel like? If you're suffering from fibromyalgia leg pain, you may experience throbbing, shooting, achy, or burning sensations in your legs. Often, you'll feel the pain at your fibro tender points, particularly inside of each knee and on the hip just behind your hipbone.
Polymyositis is a disease that causes muscles to become irritated and inflamed. The muscles eventually start to break down and become weak. The condition can affect muscles all over the body. This can make even simple movements difficult.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
If you experience leg pain following mild or rigorous activity it may be attributed to Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), which affects millions of Americans.
They include sudden shortness of breath, chest pain while breathing in or coughing, rapid breathing, rapid pulse, feeling faint or fainting, and coughing up blood. Postphlebitic syndrome. Damage to the veins from the blood clot reduces blood flow in the affected areas.
Duplex ultrasonography is an imaging test that uses sound waves to look at the flow of blood in the veins. It can detect blockages or blood clots in the deep veins. It is the standard imaging test to diagnose DVT. A D-dimer blood test measures a substance in the blood that is released when a clot breaks up.
Leg pain. New leg pain — such as a calf cramp or charley horse — could signal a blood clot in the leg. But if the pain only lasts for a few seconds and doesn't come back, it's probably not a blood clot. “Blood clot symptoms don't come and go quickly,” says Dr.