Orthopedics: Injured base of calf, back of leg (kicked during soccer) 6 months after ORIF of same leg, can I work through pain or should I stay off of it?

I am a 33yo fem, 112 lbs, very athletic. I broke my fibula playing soccer in Oct. of 07 and had a successful Open Reduction Internal Fixation with a titanium plate and 6 screws (still in) 2 days after the break. I was off crutches in 4 weeks, back to jogging in 8 weeks, and back to soccer in 12 weeks. Doc gave a complete clean bill of health and said to resume full activity. I was back to running a few miles at a time and playing soccer twice a week and doing great. Currently at about 80% for activity levels (I was running 15 to 20 miles a week and playing soccer 3-4 days per week prior to the break) and at about 85% range of motion. 2 weeks ago I got kicked in the back of the leg, below the calf, during a soccer game, and it was kicked from back to front, toward the plate, which is about 4 inches long on the side of my lower fibula, just above the ankle joint. It was painful and I had trouble walking for a few days, but was able to move enough to play soccer 1 week later, but pain too great to kick with the affected leg and trouble stopping and starting while running, but able to sprint at full speed. My pain is centered below the bulging calf muscle, about 2 to 4 inches above the part of the achilles that sticks out at the base of the ankle. It seems like a deep bruise in the leg. The part of the achilles that sticks out does not hurt at all. I have iced the leg, taken some ibuprofen (i don't like to do this, so I am not currently taking anything), applied creams (ben gay) and massaged the area, and wrapped the leg with an ace bandage. It feels MUCH better for a short pe riod of time after massage. It hurts more with inactivity and stiffness, from sitting to standing, etc., but then as it loosens and warms up it doesn't hurt while moving, but begins to hurt if I stop moving and then try to resume movement. It hurts at the beginning of a calf stretch, but as the leg is stretched and warmed up it feels fine. It does not hurt to bear weight, only to propel movement, and has improved. What I want to know is if it is damaging to attempt more activity at this point, or if it is pain that I just need to work through. I imagine that the achilles and calf muscles are bruised, and not torn or ruptured. My doc is out of town and I have a soccer game this weekend I want to play in. So is this kind of pain normal, given that the leg had the break and atrophy, if it is just a bruised achilles, and will continued activity make it worse or do I need to work through it? Should I continue massage? Should I continue ice or use heat, or both? Biking does not hurt the leg at all, so is this activity fine? And if I can run but it hurts, is it okay to do? This doesn't seem like the kind of pain that is telling me "STOP".

Hi there. I understand that it is really hard for someone so athletic to experience any form of pain that can limit one's form and activity. The pain that you are experiencing may be due to the stress of your activities and sport probably coupled with some inevitable damage that was acquired from your previous accident and surgery. The fracture and surgery you had before may have injured some nerves or blood vessels that can make the area sensitive to pain, or affect the normal function of the muscles. A sub optimal blood supply or drainage can make the muscle prone to cramping and lactic acid accumulation. The fact that you have pain means that there is really something wrong, may it be over stressing the muscles, tendons, or ligaments, with or without the vascular and nerve damage I mentioned. Adequate rest and stretching may be required to prevent further damage. Massages can help loosen the muscle fibers and blood vessels. I suggest you have this looked at closely by your sports physician or a rehabilitation specialist to facilitate healing. I hope you can be in top shape soon. Regards and God bless.

Visitors to this page searched for:
image fracture tibia &fibula:0 visits 0 bounces 994 secs spent on page; calf gets hard:0 visits 0 bounces 40 secs spent on page; ask a doctor:0 visits 0 bounces 7 secs spent on page; achilles hurts at the base of calf muscle:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page; got kicked in the leg during soccer:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page; hep calf stretch:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page; kicked in back of calf:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page; kicked in the calf muscle:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page; kicked in the calf pain:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page; running base of calf:1 visits 1 bounces 0 secs spent on page;