Sharp Pain in the Posterior Calf
Sudden, localized pain in the calf muscle upon forced upward bending of the foot, suggesting a deep vein clot that could travel to the lungs.
Description
The practitioner forcefully dorsiflexes the patient's foot at the ankle while keeping the knee straight to stretch the calf muscles. Originating from mid-20th-century physical medicine, this test checks for localized muscular irritability caused by a hidden blood clot. While not definitive, a positive result heavily raises clinical suspicion for an embolic source.