Calf problems - possibly hip related

Hi I'm pulling ma hair out with this problem.

About 5 years ago, i'm 32 now, i had what felt like a calf cramp in one calf which didn't go away and caused me to take a few days off. For the next few years it happened a couple of times a year to now where it happens quite frequently. Before i went to the physio it happened nearly every time i run out of the door.

I went to the physio in sept 09 and he said i had one leg longer than the other due to a tight hip. I followed the stretches he gave me (one for the hip flexors and the other for the abductors? ). The first few runs calf went again, the left which was giving more problems, after first two runs the problem was the same thing in the right calf. Like a cramp but the more i run on it the worse it gets. The funny thing is with the stretching daily before and after it seemed to go away, even once or twice in a few month period when it did happen, usually further into the run, it was milder and i was able to run it off.

Before christmas however i ran three weeks solid, 6 days a week, about 30 miles a week. After two days off at christmas i ran again and the same problem. This time however i took only two days off and then run again, 10 mile, no problem.

The last five weeks i have been running 5 miles a day with a few weights after, five days a week, again no problem. On monday i ran one of my faster runs in a long time and no problem, the next day i went on a very slow jog and after a mile it happened again, a really sudden sharp pain in right calf. I stopped running immediately and took the next day off. Today i went to run again and the same thing happened after only 100 metres, a record this time!

The physio said at the time he thought the leg length discrepancy was the factor but to go back if the problem came back again but although it has happened three times since september it has felt like a huge improvement from before.

When i am stretching my hips lying down i notice a very DEEP dense popping sound from the left hip and even some slight clicking in the right when i pull my leg up into my chest and then straighten it out again. The hip gives me no pain at all however but i'm sure in myself that the problem with my calf must be hip related as i definitely improved since september with the stretching but its obviously still a big problem.

This problem is driving me to despair as i feel like i'm going back to the state where i can't run without the fear of having to walk 3 mile or so back home in despair.

I will probably make a physio appointment tommorrow. I've had five weeks getting fit and bang, feel like i'm back at square one. Any help greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the rant, i couldn't type fast enough, the frustration is being taken out on the pc!

Thanks :cool:

Dave