View Full Version : severe leg cramps
Okay..long story short, I went through weeks of hell until finally I was diagnosed with two strains/sprains along my lumbar and saccral spine and was given a couple of haphazard trigger point injections that don't seem to have done alot of good. Xrays don't show any obvious problems. I don't start PT until this week, but in the meantime I've been having some friggin' painful cramps on my right leg--some in the calf, but mostly in the arch of the foot and down the lower outside of the leg (pulls my foot almost 90 degrees out...ugh). These only happen when lying down, not necessarily asleep. My bloodwork is all normal and the doc said it was tied to my back..any ideas on how to fight these off in the meantime? The ones in my foot worry me because that's also the ankle/foot I had completely reconstructed and I don't want all the work gone to waste by stretching those ligaments out again.
I'm an Occupational Therapist these days and as the joke goes "OTs don't work below the waist". That being said, I recommend that you pursue one of two routes with your problem. I suggest you see a Podiatrist that specializes in athletic issues or a Physical Therapist specializing in sports medicine. Years ago the PTs had a poster showing a woman's feet in spike high heels that said "Your back problem may start lower than you think!" (Not that I am suggesting that you would wear high heels!)
The problem you are describing could be from overpronation of the foot - rolling inwards toward the arch. This is common with flat feet and your reconstruction may have introduced other instabilities that are affecting your foot strike and gait. The solution may involve an orthotic to fit into your shoe and/or exercises to stabilize the ankle.
(Not that I am suggesting that you would wear high heels!)
The problem you are describing could be from overpronation of the foot - rolling inwards toward the arch. This is common with flat feet and your reconstruction may have introduced other instabilities that are affecting your foot strike and gait. The solution may involve an orthotic to fit into your shoe and/or exercises to stabilize the ankle.
LOL no problem--I'm a girl :lifter.
I'm pretty sure I did it deadlifting and being too gung-ho, my competitiveness tends to get me in trouble. Just to clarify, I've already been to see a spine specialist, it's just taking me three weeks to get into PT. Trust me, my ankles have been tweaked, poked, prodded, and everything else the last couple of years (calcaneal osteotomy, 1st metatarsal dorsiflexion osteotomy, and Brostrum repair). I do have custom orthotics. I'm pretty sure it's coming from the top down and not the bottom up though.