"Dents" in leg muscles

Yes!

I noticed a 2" dent in my right calf yesterday with a pea-sized lump in the middle. Is this something to worry about? I am a 75 year-old female and wore a knee brace on that leg yesterday.

Hello @lkingsbu and welcome to Connect. Is this a new development? Is there a different color or texture on the surface of the skin for the pea sized lump? Is this something that is growing larger? Do you have normal sensation in the leg, and would you sense pain if something was putting too much pressure in a spot?

Let me tell you why I asked these questions. I do sometimes wear an ankle brace because I still have weakness since breaking my ankle a year ago, and sometimes that leaves a dent, so I don't worry about that unless the dent stayed there after the brace was removed. If you have a raised lump, that IS something to be concerned about. My husband had a small dome shaped bump on his hand and thought it was a pimple coming up, it grew a bit larger and he thought it was a wart. It was just a spherical flesh colored bump. Because he kept hitting it when using his hands, he started covering it with a bandage. Out of sight... out of mind... right? When I saw it again (after it had been there a year), it had grown larger and it looked like an eraser on the end of a pencil, and it was the same color. I made a dermatology appointment and they did a biopsy. Then we got a phone call that this bump was melanoma, the most dangerous of the skin cancers, and he was scheduled for surgery immediately and now has a skin graft about the size of a half dollar. We were lucky, it had not spread. If it had, I would be telling a different story right now. He does have to go for skin exams every 3 months, and they keep removing abnormal moles that could become skin cancer.

It takes a trained medical professional to give you a diagnosis. Good for you for your awareness. If the lump is there all the time, it would be best to get a dermatologist to look at it. It could be a lot of things or maybe something harmless, but you need to advocate for yourself and make an appointment for an evaluation.

Do you have a dermatologist that you can see?

Jennifer, thank you for your thoughtful and informative response. I sincerely appreciate it. It's difficult for a senior to know when something odd should be pursued.

It's difficult to assess what this is, except that the lump/bump seems to be under the skin and isn't particularly discolored.

I am somewhat concerned that it could possibly be a blood clot that needs immediate attention but am hanging onto the thought that it is not. I do have an appointment with a new PCP in 3 weeks. In the interim I'll make an appointment with my dermatologist just to make sure it's not a skin cancer.

Thank you, again, for your kind response.

@lkingsbu You are welcome. my mom who is 91 has had a problem with blood clots in her legs because she is sedentary in a wheel chair, so now she takes Eloquis all the time. What a blood clot looked like on her was a slightly larger calf and the skin was a bit shiny because it was stretched, and the leg felt harder than the other... kind of like how a cramped muscle feels. It wasn't painful for her. A blood clot backs up the flow of blood in the vein kind of like a dam creates a lake from a stream. Something pea sized isn't affecting the whole leg like blood clots do.

My husband's melanoma was under the skin until it ulcerated through the skin which is what I described as looking like the eraser on a pencil. I guess that was pea sized too. That is why your post caught my attention. You can press around it on your skin. What should happen with normal circulation is you will see a light spot after you let go, and then in about 2 seconds, the color should return to normal on your skin. A blood clot doesn't have a defined border of where it ends, and most blood clots are internal.

I'm glad you will be getting this checked out. Will you please come back and let me know how you are doing and what you find out from your doctor? Good for you for asking the question and looking out for your health!

Jennifer

Hi @lkingsbu, I'd like to add my welcome. You'll notice that I moved your question about finding a dent with lump in your calf muscle to this existing discussion where other members have talked about similar issues. I think you'll find past comments useful to read and to connect with others.

I'm glad that you're consulting with your PCP soon. It is always good to get these things checked out.

Would like to know about dents appear in bottom of my legs

Hi @dee61 and welcome to Connect. We have a lot of members talking about dents in their legs and thighs. You will see that I moved your comment to a discussion where you can connect with those that have similar issues.

Can you share with us a little be more about your dents? When did you notice them? Have you consulted with a physician at all?

I have bad gait been needing hip replacement for 5 yrs but had no insurance or money to pay for it.I dont stand straight lot of pain in knees and lower legs.Could this be just muscle atrophy with not being able to walk properly

Hi @yenot and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.5 years is a terribly long time needing a hip replacement and being in pain. I am sorry to hear you have to deal with that. You will see that I moved your post to a discussion about dents in your legs so you can get to know members that have the same issues.
@sueinmn has an excellent post on gait here and might be something you would be interested in reading. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/635851/

How long have you noticed the dents in your legs?