Hi,    I constantly got numbness to the side of my left leg calf area, been given so much advice by different people, and I find that the left calf muscle really tightens up, and I have to stop and stretch which is spoiling my run, can someone give me advice on what it could be, and how I can sort it. Also I did at one point suffer with sciatica on the left leg, and I still have problems with the outside of my left thigh, could that be causing the problem, please help as I am running 5 miles, and feel I can't progress further because of the calf.     Thank you

I hurt my back a few yrs ago & ended up trapping my sciatic nerve. Had extensive chiropractor treatment, which sorted out my back problem. Since then the feeling in the top of my left thigh outer side has tingly like feeling & also loss of feeling, which is permanently there, it does not bother me. I have only started running this yr, but since then my left calf outer side toward the shin, has a numbness like feeling, which is there constantly, no matter what I am doing. The left calf muscle tightens up after about a mile. I have 2 stop every so often & stretch it out, it's ok then 4 a while, but starts again, I am a heel striker. I have no other problems other than that.

Hi Penny,Numbness is generally a sign of nerve involvement, most often due to compression directly or indirectly on the nerve pathway by neighboring tissue damage anywhere along the nerve path and some nerves have very long paths. It could also be compartment related. There are other possible causes too.Your history of sciatic nerve pain could be significant as it has many branches, including the peroneus nerve which controls lower leg and foot movement and could cause numbness in the calf area as well as the foot, the thigh, the buttocks and the lower back. There's not enough info in your post to be overly specific on advice. Useful to know would be : do you get the numbness only during running or does it persist afterwards or at other times ?does the calf tightness start before the numbness, after it, or independent of it ? does the numbness start at any particular point and does it spread ?where exactly on your calf is the issue - outer side or inner side, lower, mid or upper calf ?  what is the problem with the outside of your thigh - is it numbness or pain or tightness and does it co-exist with your lower leg numbness or come and go independently of it ?     did you identify anything that was causing your previous bout of sciatica ?have you had any recent knee trauma ?do you have problems with any specific lower limb movements (eg extending the knee, pointing your foot towards or away from your shins, heel strike, forefoot push)  ?does any other activity bring it on besides running ?Regards, Groz.

Penny,It sounds to me that while your chiropractor may have been of some help, there is still an old unresolved issue involving your sciatic nerve, most likely from compression somewhere along it's length - and by the symptoms you have described it's most likely to be in the upper region of the left branch. I would strongly suggest you get an x-ray done of your lower spine if you haven't already. You could have some residual damage still there that is causing all your pain / tingling / numbness - you have to rule this out first. Your calf is probably tightening up because it's not getting and/or sending effective messages along the nerve path to your brain due to the irritation present. Your sciatic nerve controls your lower leg movement. If your back proves to be completely clear, then you could have excessive tightness in your hips, gluteals, piriformis or your hamstrings and the way to deal with those is to do appropriate stretches but get your back checked before you do anything else - and do it sooner rather than later. Regards, Groz