Sudden intense calf pain makes me collapse :(

I've had a look all over the internet and on this forum and can't find a solution to my problem so I hope I'm not repeating a discussion that already exists.

Tonight I was playing football (soccer) and after about 10-15 minutes into the match I kicked a ball into the air in a normal way (i.e. I dont think I slipped or twisted anything) and got sudden sharp and incredibly intense pain in what I think is my calf muscle in my left leg. I'm no physio so i could be wrong but it's basically in the muscle in my leg below the knee at the back of the leg. I also felt a bit of pain in my right leg earlier in the match but it didn't amount to anything as severe. The pain was so intense that I collapsed and couldn't walk. After about an hour or so I managed to hobble back home and the more I walked the better it became although whenever I sat down, or applied too much pressure, it hurt again.

Now I've had this problem before. I used to get it a lot in my late teens in both legs (and it was so severe that I literally wouldn't be able to walk for 24 hours) and I had to give up football for 5/6 years because of it. This was only my second match since then - the first match (2 months ago) I had no problem. I also do a lot of exercise generally: I do 5 to 6 ballet classes each week which is obviously quite hard on the calves, and I do *a lot* of stretching, especially of the calves (like 20-30 mins 5 times a week at least before and after class) because they are often quite tight. I used to go to the gym once a week as well - although I never did running machines.

I can't understand why I have suddenly got this problem back. It's possible that I am not used to this form of exercise despite being generally fit and healthy and maybe I am stretching the muscles I use in ballet but not isolating the ones I seem to suffer pain from.

Lately my calves have been feeling a bit tighter anyway and the only things that have changed in my life in the last month are:

- I haven't made it to the gym for a month (so not doing the cycling or other resistance machines that might have helped my leg muscles)

- I have started getting the bus as opposed to getting a train. It might sound irrelevant but I always had to stand on the train and I walked further to and from the station so my leg muscles were more engaged. Nowdays I just sit down the entire bus journey, followed by sitting at my desk all day in my job.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem might be? I am really sad about this because I really want to take up football again but I can't with my muscles like this :( I thought that maybe I should take up running and gradually build up with plenty of stretching as well - perhaps that might help build up the muscle strength again?

I had a lot of physio in my late teens but the physio I had never knew what the problem was. He taught me some useful stretches but given how flexible I am from ballet (although my calves can still be incredibly tight at times) the stretches he taught me didnt solve the problem at the time.

Any thoughts or helpful advice would be really appreciated :)

Dear HappyPad

A couple of explanations come to mind from what I have just read.

The mechanism for your current injury is a kick of a ball in the air (unsure which foot though) with sudden pain in the calf muscles. Also similar pain in the other leg but not as severe...

This pain felt better as you walked home but tender when you touched it...

It could be:
Recurrent Calf tears...there are two (or three if you want to be technical and consider the two heads of the gastroc) muscles in your calf area...the Gastrocnemius and Soleus...sometimes stretching regime can involve one not the other...there fore explosive actions using these muscles can cause tears that can be painful...if not too severe one can still manage to walk although longer walks would aggravate...

the other is a claudication... in your case you say you always have it in both calves...and in ur description they seem to be happening at the same time...this may suggest poor circulation coming from more common proximal anatomy of blood supply to both legs...
Claudication should get worse as you walk longer...in your case it feels better walking? perhaps due to collateral circulation working more effeciently in standing...
activities such as cycling, rowing, some body postures in ballet can predispose to arterial occlusion...

I would suggest meeting with your GP and having a doppler done to exclude this secondary reason...

Thanks Dr Damien. It may well be the case that its a recurrent calf tear although that doesn't explain how it started in my teens perhaps, although I'm no expert. I'll definitely go to the GP and see if I can arrange to see a physio. I don't think the blood supply in my legs is great anyway - I used to regularly suffer from "pins and needles" in my feet (although i no longer get this) for example.

Thanks very much for the advice.