Hi there. When running (and sometimes at rest) I get a pulsating pain on the outside of my ankle/lower calf. This is not an achilles problem, but it has me stumped. Any ideas? At first, I thought it might be my piriformis aggravating my sciatic nerve, but as I understand it, sciatic pain would be felt at the back of the leg, not the outside. Thanks.
the peroneal muscles/tendons are there so you might have strained one of them. if you have a tendency to sprain your ankles, you might be overusing your peroneus brevis, it is the muscle/tendon you use to "catch yourself" if you are about to turn your ankle. If you notice it is worse when running on dirt, grass, (uneven surfaces) then it is very likely this problem.
I've occasionally twisted my ankle early or mid-run, continued with no problem, and totally forgotten that I've done that--until I wake up in the morning with a sprained ankle. It's also possible to accumulate ankle sprains (I've got this in my right ankle) in such a way that you can train normally but then one day take a slight misstep and wind up hobbling around in the morning.
Ice is always worth trying: 20 minutes is ideal. Crushed is better than cubes.