Hey everyone, this is kind of a long one, but I have some sort of weird problem here that I'm hoping someone could answer. I don't even know where to ask this, so I'll start here as many of you probably have a lot of knowledge about sports related injuries.

One day, I come home from walking around the track and I did some calf stretches off the edge of a step. You know how you put the ball of your foot on the edge and just let your heel drop to stretch the calf really well?

This time, I experience a really sharp, stabbing pain somewhere around where the achilles tendon meets the heel on my left foot. 'Oh no', I thought, "I must have strained or pulled the tendon.'

Well, after that, I started massaging around the tendon to see if I could find a sore spot....none. Didn't hurt a bit and I thought that was weird. Next, I tried flexing doing that stretch with my knee bent instead of locked and...no pain.

So, I discovered that there's no pain when I touch it and none when I keep my knee bent, but if I keep my knee locked and then either stretch the calf or raise my foot up while keeping my heel on the floor, the stabbing pain is there. I also discovered that if I feel around the calf muscle and back of the knee, there seems like a sore spot and it sends like an electicity through my foot.

It's so weird and I've never had anything like this. Do I have a trapped nerve maybe? What do I do about this?

You probably have a slight pull of the calf muscle or the achilles tendon. The reason it doesn't hurt when you bend your knee is because that takes the strain off of it. Ice it and don't do any sports or anything that hurts for a few days, and see a doctor if it doesn't improve.

Thanks Jane for the info, my dad was just complaining to me about the same issues as the poster, and I had no good answer for him, I wouldn't have suspected the calf to be a problem, but that makes perfect sense considering he has been doing a lot of uphill walking lately.

Anyways, thanks again!

Thanks for the info. Well, since I posted this, the pain is still very much there and it's not getting better. On the other hand, it's kind of hard to LET it get better. Walking and being on your feet is a part of everyday life.

I remember one time I sprained my left ankle pretty badly and it took about 6 weeks just to be able to walk without a limp! Looks like I have a long road ahead of me.

There are footwear adjustments and devices that can help. Even something as simple as a heel lift inside your shoe could reduce strain on the achilles.

At this point, it might be worth seeing a doctor, to find the best way of easing it. If you got a full tear, that would be quite bad.

I have a suggestion on what it might be.

First - If you are walking, do you feel a tingling sensation that starts about the middle of your foot (could vary on starting location but just the general area of the mid foot) and does it run up your calf may be as far as your knee or even as high as your hip?

***If this is the case then it might (repeat MIGHT) be something called Mortons Neuroma. I had the same problem and my doctor told me it is very common in people who run (especially sprinters) people who wear high heels a lot, people who dance, (ballroom, ballet) dancing that requires you to be on your toes a lot and people who hike a lot.

It can have a pain/tingling sensation and some days it didn't hurt at all. It was more noticable when I would wear dress shoes or shoes that had hard soles.

The cause of Mortons Neuroma is that the nerve that runs between your middle and fourth (next to little) toe and the bones connecting them becomes frayed.

If this is the case then surgery is what takes care of it. (If there is any other treatment I don't know of any)

During surgery the doctor simply removes the damaged nerve.

I have had it done on both my feet. On my right foot my middle toe is about 80% numb. On my left I have full feeling on all my toes.

The most common side effect is numbness in 1 or 2 of your toes. You still can move your foot and toes normally and it doesn't effect your walking or running.

Surgery is outpatient and I was able to walk within a week without a noticable limp when I had it done the first time. (The second time on my left foot was a little more involved since he did a 'double surgery' and removed a mole whose root had wrapped itself around my toe bone. So this recovery was about a week longer only because of the longer incision)

Ask your orthopedic doctor about this being a possibility. I think all it took was an X-ray to determine this diagnoses.

Good luck.