Does Your Calf Hurt When You Walk Or Run?

Do you have an unusual amount of pain or discomfort in your calf or heel with any type of movement? Are you a runner or did you just start a new activity or job requiring a lot of time on your feet? If so, you may complain of a pulling pain when you walk or run and even while going UP stairs or a steep incline. The pain may also radiate up towards your knee and thighs. Some people may experience leg cramps with daily activities but also in the middle of the night.

These are the symptoms and activities consistent of someone who has a condition fcalled Achilles tendonitis. The “itis” means inflammation. So this in an inflammation of the Achilles tendon, which is the strongest tendon in your body. A tendon is a strong substance of fibers connecting your muscles to the bone and crosses a joint to allow for range of motion. Those with flatfeet develop a condition called equinus or an inability to fully flex your toes towards your nose. This equinus in flatfeet is due to the malalignment of the foot and the Achilles compensates for this by contracting or tightening up.

There are two main types of Achilles tendonitis – insertional and non-insertional. The Achilles tendon connects the two calf muscles (Gastrocnemius and Soleus muscles) to the heel bone (calcaneus). You have insertional tendonitis if the pain is directly on the bone in the back of the heel but if the area of non-insertional Achilles tendonitis.

This can also be associated with “heel spurs”. The body responds to the pulling of the tendon on the bone by creating new bone called a spur in the back of the heel. You may develop a bump in the back of your heel and shoes rubbing against it may aggravate this condition. This is why a lot of people with insertional Achilles tendonitis wear open-backed shoes or clogs so it doesn’t rub the bump. Podiatrists call the bump a “pump bump” or Haglund’s deformity. Those with non-insertional Achilles tendonitis may have a painful lump or large swollen mass in the tendon itself not involving the bone.

If left untreated, those with Achilles tendonitis can develop scarring, thickening and degeneration of the tendon called “tendonosis.” This is the chronic condition of tendonitis. This leaves one suffering from tendonosis prone to partial tears of the tendon and even acute ruptures of the tendon both requiring surgical repair for optimal treatment success.

So, if you have any of these symptoms do not treat it yourself. Simple stretching exercises will not alleviate your condition. In order to alleviate your condition, see your local foot and ankle specialist, whom is also a podiatric surgeon, to prevent this tendonitis from becoming a bigger problem requiring invasive treatment and months of recovery from the surgery. In addition to rest, ice, elevation, and compression, your doctor may prescribe an anti-inflammatory medication. Temporary heel lifts are also usually prescribed to offload the tendon to avoid the pull of the Achilles. Physical therapy is another treatment that is a necessity as it provides a formal program of rehabilitation and soft tissue mobilization. Once out of the heel lifts, custom orthotics are needed to maintain the new, lengthened, stretched out position of the tendon. Custom orthotics, not the over-the-counter kind, are a pair of devices always for both feet that you put in your shoes for functional restoration of normal foot and ankle mechanics and to stop excessive motion in your foot mostly from pronation or supination for those with high arches. The orthotics will correct the underlying cause of the tendon tightness. This can also help alleviate pain in other joints such as the knees, hips and even the back.

If you are feeling better but you still have persistent pain with all of the above conservative treatments, your doctor may order an MRI to further evaluate the integrity of the tendon to make sure there are no tears of the tendon. If your pain persists and no tear or rupture is present, then there are other non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures that can be done such as extra-corporeal shock wave therapy, laser treatment, radiofrequency ablation and cryotherapy.

So there are plenty of options available for pain-relief. They KEY is to catch this early and seek professional treatment as the longer you wait and the more active you are despite your pain, the more treatment it will take to get you better.