Symptoms
The main symptom is pulling in the calf itself. Pulling is perceived by those affected as very unpleasant and disturbing. As soon as such a pulling becomes noticeable and those affected register it, this indicates a corresponding intensity, so that the pulling should be clarified.
Often, the pulling does not occur in isolation, but is accompanied by other complaints in the calf region. These may include radiant character and sensations of numbness or tingling.Depending on its intensity, pulling is even described as a pain with a stabbing and pulling character. The location of the pulling in the calf can be very variable.
The sometimes painful pulling can be on the back of the calf, can extend into the hollow of the knee or can be located more to the side, i.e. on the inside or outside. Certain factors can intensify or alleviate the pulling. Pulling in the calf does not necessarily have to occur on both sides.
On the contrary, pulling in the calf is more often limited to one side of the leg. Running – both in the sense of normal walking and jogging – is considered to be a factor that aggravates the pain depending on the cause. Pulling in the calf can be made worse by running in particular.
Especially if the cause of the pulling pain is of a muscular nature, because the muscles become even more irritated by the movement. An exception is sore muscles: Light movement can accelerate or promote healing. Sometimes the pulling in the calf is so bad that running is no longer possible, however, and running is therefore not the cause of the pulling but a component that suffers from the pulling or is no longer possible.
Especially when running, pulling in the calf can be caused by a bad posture in the foot, which under stress causes tension in the foot muscles. This in turn can lead to the pulling pain radiating into the calf. This means that the reason for pulling in the calf does not have to be localized there.
The hollow of the knee is a region on the back of the leg that is close to the calf. It is important for the subject of pulling in the calf because pulling can radiate into the hollow of the knee. A pain occurring in the hollow of the knee is perceived as very unpleasant by those affected.
In order to compensate for the pulling, affected persons often adopt a relieving posture in the knee or put other or wrong strain on it. This in turn can result in knee pain, whereby one has actually only suffered from pulling in the calf with radiation into the hollow of the knee. The hollow of the knee is therefore a typical radiating point because the large calf muscles have their starting point in this area.
Thus, the involvement of the popliteal fossa is obvious when pulling in the calf due to muscular problems. Pulling in the calf can also be associated with nerve irritation. Typically, the sciatic nerve (N. ischiadicus) plays a relevant role here.
If a herniated disc occurs in the lumbar spine, the sciatic nerve may be compressed by the nerve root. As a result, affected persons complain of severe back pain. The pain can, however, run along the nerve path down the back, across the buttocks, along the leg and into the calf.
A herniated disc in the back with injury to the sciatica can therefore cause a pulling in the calf. This is also known as “sciatica pain”. In this case, in addition to pulling in the calf, numbness and tingling sensations can also occur as a sign of nerve irritation in the leg.
Pulling in the calf is usually intensified by movement. Older people who move little and sit a lot are particularly at risk. These are all factors that put a strain on the intervertebral discs or promote their loss of elasticity, making a slipped disc more likely.
Often, pulling in the calf is limited mainly to the rear area. This is because that is where the large calf muscles, the M. gastrocnemius and M. soleus, which can also be summarized as M. triceps surae, are located. As described above, these muscles can cause pulling in the calf due to muscle soreness, muscle cramps, strains, tension or shortening.
Depending on which muscles are affected, the pulling can be felt more superficially or more deeply. Sometimes, however, an incorrect posture or deformity of the spine can also cause pulling in the rear calf area. For example, a hollow back causes the rear muscular parts of the lower leg to be subjected to increased strain.
This can lead to incorrect loading and tension of the calf muscles, resulting in the pulling pain at the back. The foot position in a sitting position can also cause tension and shortening of the calf muscles, which is then accompanied by the pulling pain at the back. If the pulling in the calf is described by those affected in a more lateral position, this does not usually indicate a particular cause, so immediate treatment would be indicated.As already mentioned, the localization of dragging is often accompanied by structures located there.
Lateral muscular problems therefore tend to cause pulling pain on the side of the calf. The same applies to pulling in the calf from the side as to pulling in the calf from the outside. The muscles on the outside of the calf are again different from those on the inside, so that corresponding muscular problems cause the pulling. In principle, however, pulling on the outside of the calf can also result from a thrombosis of a blood vessel at this point.