# DAMN!  WHAT WAS THAT? (Pain in my leg?)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 15, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878 "2003-04-15T14:34:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SwimmingwithChickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@SwimmingwithChickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingwithChickens)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878/1 "2003-04-15T14:34:45Z")

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I was just walking down the hallway a minute ago and I experienced an extreme pain square in the middle of my leg (calf muscle.) It felt like a hot lance pierced it, but the after affects are more like a muslce cramp. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. I’m relatively young (30+/-).  
So I ask you dopers, what COULD this be?

(no history of illness btw.)

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**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878/2 "2003-04-15T15:57:19Z")

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Maybe it was a cramp? Do you normally get cramps?

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**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878/3 "2003-04-15T16:07:22Z")

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My sister had an ailment called cellulitis, which was pretty painful for her. It’s an infection that can be very dangerous if not treated. You can get it from the tiniest, slightest scratch. Microscopic even.

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**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878/4 "2003-04-15T16:39:06Z")

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I’d like to know, too, 'cause it sounds just like what I went through several years back. I called 'em “pinprick cramps”- that’s exactly what they felt like- like someone was driving an icepick into the back of my right thigh. It’d go on for about 10-20 seconds (although it seemed a heck of a lot longer than that), and then just completely go away. The pain was so bad that it would literally knock me off my feet- luckily it never happened out in public, only when I was at home. It happened about five times, as I recall, and hasn’t recurred.

What the hell WAS that?

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-what-was-that-pain-in-my-leg/168878/5 "2003-04-15T19:55:28Z")

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Sounds to me like a classic [Charley Horse](http://home.sprynet.com/~holtrun/charley.htm).