Persistent lateral lower leg pains

[Sheff93]

Hi

I’ve had a persistent pain in my right lower leg for over 8 weeks and it is now mirrored in my left leg too. The pain mainly strikes on the outside of the lower leg just below the knee but is also frequent a couple or inches or so up from my ankle.

Sporadically I’ll get a bit of pain in the back of my calves an inch or so below my knee joint and near my shins.

I’d describe the pain as sharp and it seems to stay specifically in whatever spot it strikes rather than radiate or shoot up or down.

It doesn’t seem to be exacerbated with movement other than some tightness with walking, it seems to come on randomly while sitting still or lying in bed.

I have called my GP three times who has told me to do leg stretching exercises for another 6 weeks and come back to them after that but so far no effect.

I have just had a private physio appointment and there are no immediately obvious causes so we are working on the assumption there is an issue with my lower back.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or theories that might help me solve this faster because it is really affecting my quality of life at the moment!

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[Guiydo]

Hi Sheff93,

Difficult to say without a proper clincal examination. However, I hope to help you somehow.

Need to know more about your case. How would you describe your pain? What job do you do? Any sports? Physical activity? Have you recently changed your physical activities/habits? Do you recall having minor traumas? Any medical issues with your family?

Assuming you are properly performing stretching, muscle problems do not seem to be the main reason of your problem.

Knee disorders may sometimes give those signs and symptoms you described. Therefore, attention should be addressed to this joint as well the ankle joint.

As your physio thought, the spine may be a plausible reason of your pain. This is also supported by the fact that your symptoms are bilateral. Monitoring of symptoms behaviour during spine postures/movements is key and guides the physio to rule in/out sources of pain.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Regards

[mmwr715]

Lateral just below the knee is where the peroneal nerve runs:
Peroneal nerve - Mayo Clinic

is your ankle weak ie. do you have some foot drop?

[Sheff93]

Hi Sheff93,

Difficult to say without a proper clincal examination. However, I hope to help you somehow.

Need to know more about your case. How would you describe your pain? What job do you do? Any sports? Physical activity? Have you recently changed your physical activities/habits? Do you recall having minor traumas? Any medical issues with your family?

Assuming you are properly performing stretching, muscle problems do not seem to be the main reason of your problem.

Knee disorders may sometimes give those signs and symptoms you described. Therefore, attention should be addressed to this joint as well the ankle joint.

As your physio thought, the spine may be a plausible reason of your pain. This is also supported by the fact that your symptoms are bilateral. Monitoring of symptoms behaviour during spine postures/movements is key and guides the physio to rule in/out sources of pain.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Regards

Apologies for my late response, I was completely unable to login!
The issue still remains though and thank you for responding

I would describe the pain as a dull aching most of the time, but from time to time it is more of a sharp sensation that strikes randomly.
I work in computer software so I am at a desk 99% of my time, I do try to get up and stretch my legs every hour or so to make sure I don't remain stuck in one position. I had not drastically changed my habits when I first started having the pain, with the pandemic, I had been doing 20 min home workouts in the morning 3/4 times a week but nothing overly strenuous. Once the leg pain was more constant I stopped doing those workouts to see if resting helped, now I will walk short distances after work most evenings but my legs get tired a lot quicker than usual.

There was no minor traumas or injuries to either leg and to my knowledge I don't have a family medical history I should be concerned about.

My physio still seems certain that the issue comes from my back. I think I am going to end up having to pay for an MRI scan on my lower back - I am a bit hesitant to spend money on this, after 4 weeks of physio on my back, my lower legs do not feel any better so I am worried about paying for a scan only to be told there is nothing there.

I'm not sure if it is useful information but my right leg is worse than the left, the aching at the back of my calf makes it difficult to sit still without painkillers. I am getting a sharper pain in both legs on the outside of my lower legs that is now pretty constant when sitting or reclining. I am able to move as normal so I can still walk and do activity and if anything that helps me distract from it so I'm not sure what it is that could be causing distracting pain but NOT inhibiting my ability to move?

[Sheff93]

Hi,

The diagram you attached does appear to be in the region where I get a lot of the pain but I do not have foot drop. My physio has also done the usual strength tests etc. and there was no issue. I have noticed that I am starting to roll my foot onto its outer edge if I am stood for a period of time (e.g brushing my teeth) - it's not something I'm doing consciously so I can only assume its an automatic reaction to try and alleviate the discomfort.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi,

The diagram you attached does appear to be in the region where I get a lot of the pain but I do not have foot drop. My physio has also done the usual strength tests etc. and there was no issue. I have noticed that I am starting to roll my foot onto its outer edge if I am stood for a period of time (e.g brushing my teeth) - it's not something I'm doing consciously so I can only assume its an automatic reaction to try and alleviate the discomfort.

[Guiydo]

Hi Sheff93,

That's sad to hear that the problem hasn't improved.

Does the pain go better when moving/walking and worse when sitting/standing up?
What you described would suggest a spinal/nerve issue, but this is just an hypothesis over the internet without having performed a physical exam.

I would suggest you to follow your physio advice.