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The pain is at the origin of the Achilles where it attaches to the muscles in your lower leg (gastrocnemius and soleus) and inserts in the heel bone so that you can extend your ankle during the push-off when you run or walk. You should definitely see a physical therapist for an evaluation of your gait and other factors that can cause this. The problem is the risk of strain, chronic tendinitis, or even rupture. Since it's on both sides it could do with your anatomy and the amount you run, the terrain, how often you run, your shoes, your body weight, and other factors. You say you don't run very much, so maybe you push too hard when you do. You should also warm up for 5-8 minutes, then stop and stretch both the gastroc and the soleus. Here's a soleus stretch http://www.topendsports.com/medicine/stretches/calf-soleus.htm Ths gastroc stretch is the standard calf stretch against the wall, or you could stand with your heels off the edge of a step and drop your heels down.

Go ahead and see a physical therapist for a proper evaluation, treatment, and plan for prevention.

Take care,
Rich

I've been to an orthopedist and a physical therapist. They've said they couldn't help me but did take my money.

They've given me exercises to do every other day and I've been doing them for months to no result. I stopped running for five weeks, started up again and didn't have pain. But when I ran 4 days later the pain came back. Now I'm back where I started; pretty much unable to run. All I know is that it's some sort of calf pain. X-rays say nothing is wrong and it has nothing to do with tendons.

I don't know what's wrong with your leg, but it's good news that it's not tendinitis because that can go on for a long time. Maybe you want to try massage? I'm not sure if that would help or not because I don't know what's wrong. You didn't say your height and weight. Is it possible the strain is from too much weight? And how far are you running, and what is your pace? Do you run on your toes or land on your heels? Is one leg longer than the other? Have you been icing it? Did the doctor suggest an anti-inflammatory? Do you stretch your calves after jogging for 4-5 minutes (so that the legs are warm)? Do you finish your runs with a sprint? Do you do any other activities that affect your calves -- at your job, or working out, or playing sports? What type of terrain do you run on? Do your shoes fit properly and provide adequate support? These are some questions that might give you a clue. If you feel like it and you figure it out please let me know.

Take care,
Rich

Thank you for replying. Many of the questions you've asked were asked by the orthopedist/physical therapists.

I'm a male, 5'10, age 25, weight 140 lbs.

The physical therapists wouldn't give me a massage. I don't run very far because of the pain, but I prefer sprinting rather than jogging. The pain can start up immediately which keeps me from doing much.

I land on the balls of my feet. I prefer to run barefoot, but no, this is not the cause. I've used running shoes many times in the past and it doesn't help. I run on soft terrain; grass fields mostly.

I've never noticed one left being longer than another but I don't know.

I was instructed to do stretches, ice afterwards, take aspirin, but wasn't prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. The orthopedist said it's muscle inflammation although there were no visible signs.

My job involves sitting all day, so it doesn't aggravate the muscles. I walk on breaks.

If you're sprinting on the balls of your feet then it makes sense. Sprinting on its own puts lots of stress on the calves, and landing on the balls of your feet is all calf work. Calf muscles do what's called plantar flexion; that is, extending your ankle so your foot can push off. And you push off with your toes when you run. And if you're landing on the balls of the feet as you sprint then the calf is already contracted and the trauma is worse because there's less elasticity in the flexed calf and less absorption when your foot lands with the calf already contracted. So if you run on your toes, your calves absorb most of the shock, and sprinting just compounds it. You may simply have micro-trauma in the muscle fibers. I suggest you start healing by getting massages followed my ice until it feels better. And I don't mean a couple of minutes of massage. I mean massage by a skilled person who can start with gentle strokes to get blood in there, then traces the lines of the muscle fibers, and then some cross-friction massage to break any adhesions. During this time you should not do any sprinting. I also suggest that when you're at your desk you either use some type of wedgeto keep your calves stretched like this: http://www.thetagoeclinic.co.uk/pages/devices.html ,

or a device like this: http://www.footsmart.com/P-FootSmart-SmartFlexx-Stretching-Device-10741.aspx?srccode=WMGGLE1&cm_mmc=googplus-_-Default-_-s-_-10741%20000%2000%20000&mr:trackingCode=17962FED-43A9-E011-8116-001517B1882A&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=8956005545&mr:keyword={keyword}&gclid=CM_c18O1orECFQFx4Aod6hvNgA&kwid=61c840f5425f43e4be17d5777555c1d4

Sitting all day is going to tighten your calves, and then when you sprint on your toes it creates lots of trauma. If you get massage and take a break from sprinting for a couple weeks, and do something to stretch your calves while sitting all day, I'll bet it starts to feel better. And then I do suggest you start back to running slower than with a sprint. You hit the ground with 3-5 times your body weight when you run. Running faster makes it worse. Give it a little time to get back into it, and don't push through pain.

Take care, Rich

I don't understand what you are saying regarding landing and pushing with balls/toes? From everything I know you're supposed to land on the center of the balls of your foot, and push off with your toes as you go forward.

I'm not sure what you're confused about. We're both saying land on the ball of the foot and push off with the toes (center of the balls/toes isn't a big deal, and the push-off is more from the big toe than all the toes). There's no "supposed to" since people have different foot strikes, but again, we're saying the same thing. To understand a little better about the forces, do the following. While seated, or standing, push down with your feet/toes so your heel comes off the floor. Then put your hand on your calf. Feel how it's contracting? That's how you land and push off when you land on your toes. The calf may be somewhat relaxed (but still flexed) until your foot hits the ground, but then it contracts hard at the moment of impact and push-off, and that's what I'm suggesting may be causing your problem (you can also lift your foot off the floor while seated or standing and then push down so your toes pint down and you'll feel the calf contract). And like I said, sprinting makes more impact. And whether or not you understand all the biomechanics, the treatment I'm suggesting will be worth the effort. If you don't want to pay for the massages, then go ahead and do it yourself, or have a friend/spouse do it for you. You can also roll your calf on a tennis ball, or other massage device. And then ice it. I hope that helps.