I have discovered an interesting lump on my leg...

running bum wrote:

Hey guys, I am a self-coached collegiate runner training for 8ks. I've been doing between 60 and 70 miles a week, and I recently ran through a mild case of achilles tendinitis.

For the past few days, however, my right calf (the same leg as I had the tendinitis in) has been very tight. About halfway up my calf, along the medial side of the tibia is a definite lump. It isn't on the bone, but rather, it seems like it has filled the space between the bone and the calf muscle. It doesn't really hurt when running besides the calf tightness, but after runs I've noticed that if I sit and plant my right foot on the ground, then twist my heel outward, I feel a pulling from the outside of my heel up to that lump on the inside of my calf.

Any ideas? I'm stuck.

Although I will represent a very extreme voice in the conversation I actually speak from experience. If the lump doesn't go away in a few weeks (or seems to grow) make sure to get it checked out. I found a lump in my neck a few months back and it turned out to be a extremely rare terminal cancer. Before you ask, I am in the middle of chemo, hence, the fact that it hasn't killed me but can still be terminal...

As I started out with, chances are 99.9999999% it's not anything like that, but, I am just saying be aware that it's possible. I was running 50 miles a week at 6:45 pace when I was diagnosed, so, it's not unheard of for perfectly healthy people to get bizarre diseases. Hopefully, it's just something run-of-the-mill. Trust me, I truly hope it is.

Thanks, Doc. Will running barefoot cure me of my cauliflower deficiency?

stress fracture?

Probably the bad shoes have caused a lump in the muscle.

You're not able to run very well, which is a big deal, but other than that it's no biggie.

More likely you had some bad clams.

thank you for the wonderful responses. if anyone has any serious advice, i'll be thankful. if not, keep making me laugh

bump. any more serious answers? i'd appreciate input. i'd really like to rule out whether or not this is a weird stress fracture type injury

I always had a lump exactly where you describe. When I rubbed it, it didnt really hurt, just tight. Obviously, if it grows or changes Id get it checked out. But like I said, I had it 30 years ago and when I stopped competing it went away.

Are you missing a testical? hang in there....

Is the lump hard or soft?

I have one like that on my anterior calf, halfway up. It is very soft and disappears or becomes more prominent based on how I flex or rotate my ankles and lower legs. It's about the size of a quarter, and causes me no pain.

However, I was concerned about it and recently headed to a sports orthopedist to get some insight. After some tests, he concluded that I'd had some form of mild compartment syndrome at one point (I used to have a lot of pain in that area of my leg in high school, but never enough to do anything about it), which resolved itself and now the "lump" is actually just a bit of muscle that is poking through the muscle sheath, relieving the pressure.

Not sure if this is helpful or not -- just my experience with random lumps on the lower leg!

I have one on the medial ridge of my right tibia. It started about two years ago. Initially it caused a sharp pain with some tightness down into the medial ankle and between my big and second toe. Gradually the pain got better and tightness subsided, but the lump is still there. It feels as hard as bone, but does not show up as being calcified on MRI or x-ray. Doctors never really explained what it was, other than to say it was "scar tissue". It's still tender, but causes me no problems running. I went to docs to rule out any kind of cancer. Typically, bone cancer is very, very painful pretty much constantly, so minus that symptom, you're likely just fine. Good luck!

More info please. Is it hard or soft? "Squishy" or firm? Painful or nontender when you mash on it? Pulsatile? How large is it - Cherry sized? Pea sized? Grapefruit sized? Always the same size, or waxes and wanes in size? Can you grasp it between finger and thumb and move it around, or is it stuck in place? Any change in the overlying skin? Does it hurt or ache when you are not touching it?

thanks guys. here's a bit more info. as stated earlier, it's about halfway down my lower leg, right around the calf's widest point.

it's about the size of a quarter, but from what i can tell my feeling around it, it's not of a uniform shape. it is firm, but not as hard as bone. it hurts if i press on it, not with an intense pain, but with the kind of pain that you get from a black and blue mark or a very tight muscle. it does not pulsate. i can't tell whether or not it moves around... it seems like when i press hard on it and move my fingers around it gives a tiny bit and then my fingers shoot over it to the other side of the lump.

as best as i can describe, it is between the tibia and my calf muscle (not sure which muscle it is). when i sit with my knee directly in front of me and bent so that my foot is flat on the ground, the area in question hurts when i twist my foot inward at the ankle. with this motion, the outside of my heel also experiences a dull pain, but not nearly as uncomfortable as this lump.

my initial concern about it being a stress fracture stems from the fact that i sustained a stress fracture in the opposite leg last spring, and a friend who has had numerous stress fractures said that it is common to develop a second sfx in the opposite leg due to over-compensating. i can hop up and down on the leg without pain, and tapping on the bone produces no pain. my calf is tight, both in the gastrocnemius and soleus.

I'll show your note to a couple of ortho colleagues tomorrow and post back their comments. I was initially thinking some kind of cyst but now not sure. Healing bones can have hard lumps on them, 'callous' it's called, where calcium has deposited and not yet remodelled. But I'm not sure if that's what you're describing. One of the ortho guys is a runner - I'm guessing he'll have some informed thoughts.

I would definitely get it checked out. One of my runners had something like that in the spring. Initial diagnosis was a cyst but after a few more tests it came back as Ewings sarcoma. Luckily it was caught early but he is still undergoing chemo and just recently had surgery to remove the tumor.

OK, I ran this by some of my ortho friends and they were concerned and thought you should really get it checked out. One of them mentioned the possibility of a neuroma, apparently common in the portion of the leg you are describing. Any responisible physician, myself included, cannot diagnose correctly just based on a written description, so I would also urge you to let someone experienced take a look at this for you.

Oh Boy--listen--are you familiar with the term melanoma?

It's bad bro--make an appt. with a skin doc asap!

All the best man