Leg Pain
Leg pain is frequently caused by muscle knots in various areas. Hamstring knots can cause pain behind the knee, in the glutes, or lower leg. Quadriceps knots refer pain throughout the knee and thigh. Calf muscle knots can lead to heel or foot pain, even mimicking plantar fasciitis. Adductor knots cause inner thigh pain, while outer shin knots can cause big toe pain or what’s mistaken for shin splints.
Calf Pain
There are two muscles that make up the calf complex or calf muscles; the Gastrocnemius and the Soleus. These muscles form the Achilles tendon that attach to the heel bone. These muscles are located on the back of the lower leg and allow you to go up on your tip toes. Wearing high heels, or participating in activities where you are up and down on the ball of your foot, can lead to the formation of muscle knots. Muscle knots in the calf muscle can cause heel pain or pain in the bottom of the foot. Those who suffer from plantar fasciitis often find relief by working on the muscle knots in the calf muscles.
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Calf Cramps
Calf cramps feel like a sudden, intense tightening and pain in your calf muscle, almost like it’s seized up into a hard knot. It can be really uncomfortable and even quite sharp while it’s happening, making it difficult to move your foot or ankle. The cramp usually lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, and afterwards, your calf muscle might feel tender and sore for a while.
Night Time Calf Cramps
There is nothing worse than being woken up in the middle of the night with calf cramps. Calf cramps feel like a sudden, intense tightening and pain in your calf muscle, almost like it’s seized up into a hard knot. It can be really uncomfortable and even quite sharp while it’s happening, making it difficult to move your foot or flex your ankle. The cramp usually lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, and afterwards, your calf muscle might feel tender and sore for a while.
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Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis usually feels like a nagging ache or stiffness right in the back of your heel, and you might feel it creeping up into your lower calf too. It’s often at its worst first thing in the morning or after you’ve been chilling for a bit, and then it can really flare up when you start moving around, especially if you’re doing anything like running or even just walking a lot. The spot itself might feel ouchy if you poke it, and it could even be a little puffy or warm to the touch. Some people also describe it as a burning feeling or like the tendon just feels really tight.
Shin Splints
Those usually feel like a dull, aching pain along the front or inner side of your lower leg, specifically along the shin bone. It often starts gradually and can feel like a general soreness or tenderness in that area. You might notice it more during or after exercise, especially high-impact activities like running or jumping. Sometimes the pain can be sharp or throbbing, and the area along your shin might even feel a little swollen or bumpy to the touch. 1 It’s that kind of pain that can really make you want to stop what you’re doing!
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis typically feels like a sharp, stabbing pain in the heel, especially with your first steps in the morning or after a period of rest. It can also feel like a deep ache along the arch of your foot. The pain often improves with a little walking but can return or worsen after prolonged standing, walking, or exercise. Plantar Fasciitis can also be described as feeling like they’re stepping on a pebble or having a tight band across the bottom of their foot.
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Calf Pain
Calf pain can feel like a whole range of things, depending on what’s causing it! It could be a dull ache or general soreness if you’ve just worked out or been on your feet a lot. Sometimes it’s a sharp, sudden pain if you’ve pulled a muscle or gotten a cramp. It might feel tight and constricted, especially during a cramp. If it’s something like a strain, it could be tender to the touch and hurt when you flex your foot or walk. You might also notice a burning sensation or a feeling of heaviness in your calf. Basically, any uncomfortable or painful sensation in the back of your lower leg could be described as calf pain!
Inner Leg and Groin Pain
The adductor muscles consist of 5 muscles that are located on the inside of the thigh. These muscles are responsible for bringing the leg and thigh towards the body or midline of the body and stabilizing the leg while walking. Pain from trigger points in the adductor muscle group will typically cause pain in the inner thigh or groin area. Individuals who hyperpronate may experience trigger points in the adductor muscles due to the muscles being overworked and compensating for walking on the inside of the foot.
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Hot stinging pain on the inside of thigh
That hot, stinging pain in your inner thigh could stem from nerve issues, like a pinched nerve sending those sensations down, or a muscle strain causing soreness and tightness. Interestingly, pain can also be referred from other areas, like your hip or back.
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Groin pain
Groin pain can feel like sharp, sudden twitches to dull, persistent aches. This makes movements like walking or lifting uncomfortable. Causes can range from muscle strains to muscle knots to hip or knee issues.
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Dull achiness deep inside
A deep achiness deep in the inner thigh often feels like a dull, persistent discomfort that seems to originate from within the muscle tissue itself, rather than on the surface. It’s not usually sharp or stabbing, but more of a heavy, sometimes throbbing sensation that can be hard to pinpoint to a specific spot. You might describe it as a constant, underlying ache that can make certain movements, like walking or bringing your legs together, feel stiff or uncomfortable. It’s the kind of pain that can feel deep-seated and less like a surface bruise and more like a soreness within the muscle.
Hamstring Pain
The hamstrings are the muscles located in the back of the thigh. There are three different muscles that make up the hamstring group and are responsible for extending the hip and bending or flexing the knee. Knot spots in these muscles can cause pain in the back of the thigh, in the buttocks area, and the low leg.
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Dull ache behind knee
A dull ache behind the knee often feels like a deep, nagging soreness that’s hard to pinpoint to one specific spot. It’s usually not sharp or sudden, but more of a constant, heavy discomfort in the back of your knee joint. You might notice it more when you bend or straighten your leg, or after you’ve been sitting or standing for a while. It can sometimes feel stiff or tight, making it uncomfortable to move your knee freely. It’s the kind of ache that just kind of lingers in the background.
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Hamstring pull
A hamstring pull usually hits you out of nowhere, like a sharp, sudden jab in the back of your thigh while you’re moving. Some people even say they feel a little “pop” or “snap” right when it happens. After that initial ouch, the back of your leg will probably feel really tender if you touch it, and bending or straightening your leg will likely make it hurt. You might even get some swelling and maybe even a bruise showing up back there. Plus, your leg might feel weak and stiff, making it a bit of a struggle to walk or put your full weight on it. Basically, it’s your hamstring saying, “Nope, not doing that anymore!” in a pretty clear and often painful way.
Lower back pain due to tight hamstrings
Low back pain stemming from tight hamstrings can feel like a dull, often constant ache that’s typically located across your lower back, often feeling symmetrical on both sides. You might also experience a tightness or stiffness in your lower back, almost like a band is wrapped around it. Bending forward or even just standing for a while can sometimes aggravate this achiness, and you might notice it more around your beltline.
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Sciatica-like symptoms
Sciatica or sciatica like symptoms can feel like a shooting, burning pain that starts in your lower back or buttock and travels down the back of your thigh and calf, sometimes even reaching your foot and toes. You might also experience tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness in the affected leg. It’s often described as feeling like an electric shock or pins and needles, and it can be aggravated by movements like bending forward, carrying a wallet in your back pocket, or sitting for too long.
Knee Pain
Back of Knee Pain
Pain behind the knee is often caused by muscle knots in the hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosous, and semimembranosus) and calf muscles. The hamstrings are a group of three muscles responsible for extending the hip and flexing the knee, are a common source of this discomfort. When trigger points form in these muscles, they can refer pain directly to the back of the knee, as well as up into the glutes and down through the lower leg.
Front of Knee Pain
Muscle knots can cause pain in the front of the knee in the quadriceps muscles and by some of the inner thigh muscles.
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Buckling
A buckling knee is that unsettling feeling when your knee suddenly feels unstable and like it can’t support your weight. It might feel like your knee is going to give out from under you, causing you to stumble or feel unsteady. “gives way,” and you’re not sure if it will hold you up.
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Deep knee pain
That pain deep in the knee joint feels like more of an ache coming from the very center of your knee. It can be tricky to pinpoint exactly where the pain is coming from. It can feel like a constant pressure, dull throbbing, a sharp pain or all of the above.
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Front of knee pain when running
When you get that pain at the front of your knee while running—what many people call “runner’s knee”—it can feel unpleasant. It could be a gradual, dull ache, or a more sudden, sharp pain when you’re pushing off or going downhill. Your knee might also feel swollen or tender, leaving you less motivated to keep going.
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Runner's knee
That pain in the front of your knee that we often call runner’s knee can affect lots of people, not just those who run. It can feel like a nagging ache or tightness, or a sharper twinge that makes you want to stop and stretch. This pain, and the wobbly feeling that sometimes comes with it, can be noticeable when you’re active, like running, jumping, or climbing stairs, or even after sitting with your knees bent.
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Stuck knee cap
A stuck kneecap. That little bone in the front of your knee isn’t gliding smoothly like it should. You might feel a bit of pain or tenderness right there, which can make bending or straightening your knee feel awkward or restricted.
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Side of Knee Pain
Pain in the side of the knee is typically attributed to the IT Band. The IT Band is a thick band of connective tissue that runs along the outside of the leg from the hip to the outside of the knee. Muscle knots in the outside quadriceps muscle will cause outside knee pain.
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Side of knee pain
Side of knee pain is basically any ache, soreness, or just plain “ow!” you feel on the inner or outer part of your kneecap. Where exactly it hurts can actually give you a hint about what might be going on in there. It could be anything from a bone thing to a ligament issue, maybe a tendon problem, or even something with that cushiony cartilage stuff (the meniscus).