leg knot

at night it some times is like that i feel a knot is forming in the left calf lower portion left side, the nerve it seems is getting a knot, there is pain- good pain, it seems as if the nerves there are getting entangled then i wake and then i pat it and after some time of patting and light massaging the knot seems to go away, can you please tell me what it is and if it is serious, thanks

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

You need not worry about any nerve here. This is a typical nocturnal muscle cramp. It may come if you have had a stressful day and have not replenished your body with a lot of fluids and minerals.

Regards

[ds12]

thanks very much

today only i have been able to access this site hence posting today as i tried after receiving the mail but i could not access the site.


thank  you  very much for giving the answer -now i am not worrying at all as it has happened several times in the past.

thanks again.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

There's a trick to relieving it when it happens. Instead of massaging the calf, you can do an action of the ankle joint opposite to what the calf muscle would do. The calf muscle do the plantar flexion, or simply, downward movement of the foot. You have to do teh upward movement and stop that action with your other foot. This helps the calf muscle relax. If you notice the soccer players in the half time or after the full time, they do these exercises to relax the calf muscles and prevent any cramps during the play.

Regards

[ds12]

dear Dr.
again thank you very much for this suggestion i shall keep it in mind if next i get this trouble,
this site is doing a good job indeed, which has doctors like you,
thanks again,
my very best wishes.

ds

[amron123]

I have knots in both legs both above and below the knee.  They are there all of the time but sometimes get VERY sore and cause sevier pain.  The PT tried "reliecing " them but all that did was make me black and blue al over.   these are all around the legs.  can you help?