Causes of bilateral calf pain

Especially in cases of pain in the lower leg, which occurs on both sides of the calves, a hollow back can be the cause. In this case, the patient shows an over-erect posture with the upper body bent backwards. As a rule, the affected person also presses the knees strongly backwards.

During walking and running, no or hardly any involvement of the pelvis and trunk can be observed. These postural defects cause a permanent tension of the calf muscles, which causes pain in the lower leg. This is often accompanied by pain in the front thigh, knees and lumbar spine.

Pain in the lower leg, which mainly affects the calf, is also triggered in many patients by frequent sitting with an overly bent knee. A direct consequence of this incorrect posture is tension, which makes it difficult to adequately stretch the knees during walking and running. These patients are often accompanied by pain in the back of the thighs.

Many patients who suffer from pain in the thigh area have the habit of standing and walking with permanently bent knees. As a result, the muscles of the calf are often tensed. Tension and calf pain are the result in many cases.

For example, cycling without foot movement, overloading when lifting weights or monotonous muscle training are in many cases triggers for pain in the lower leg. They trigger pain in some patients if they restrict the foot’s movement too much. Shoes with particularly soft footbeds can help.

Causes of unilateral calf pain

One-sided pain in the lower leg is more common in people who shift their body weight to one leg when standing. In some cases, this is merely a temporary relieving posture for injuries to the other leg.For many patients, however, this crooked posture is a habit that in the long term can lead not only to pain in the lower leg but also to back problems. Burning pain in the lower leg, which also persists at rest, often indicates diseases of the connective tissue of the skin and subcutis.

Lower leg pain resulting from connective tissue tension is usually much more diffuse and cannot be localized exactly. In most cases, these pains are burning and are accompanied by sensitivity disorders such as tingling and itching. In addition, the affected patients often notice a feeling of tension and weakness.

Pain in the lower leg that comes from the connective tissue or muscle fascia can be distinguished from ordinary tension pain by the fact that it often occurs at rest and can lead to restless legs. If acute, severe or stabbing pain on the lower leg occurs, a doctor should be consulted as soon as possible. Organic causes for the occurrence of this pain phenomenon must be urgently excluded in these cases.

The sudden onset of pain in the area of the lower leg or thigh can be an indication of vascular diseases such as thrombosis in the leg, venous or arterial insufficiency, a smoker’s leg, the so-called peripheral arterial occlusive disease (in short: pAVK) or wound infections. In many cases, pain in the lower leg can be caused by the presence of the so-called compartment syndrome. The compartment syndrome describes a disease in which increased tissue pressure leads to a reduction in tissue perfusion when the skin and soft tissue mantle is closed.

After some time, neuromuscular disorders result from this reduced blood circulation. The development of tissue damage is also possible. In addition to the lower leg, the forearm of many patients is affected by the risk of compartment syndrome.

Direct causes for its development are bruises or edema in individual muscle compartments caused by acute trauma or heavy strain from sports activities. In the course of this, the muscle group bounded by fascia swells and the pressure within the individual compartments increases. Typical symptoms of the compartment syndrome of the lower leg in addition to pain are hardened muscles and sensitivity disorders.