Off the Courts: Occupational "Tennis Leg".

OBJECTIVE

Injury to the gastrocnemius muscle (tennis leg) is a presenting complaint often associated with athletic pursuits. Despite that label, this form of injury is likely to be common to a variety of salaried and nonsalaried pursuits beyond sports.

METHOD: We describe the presentation and management of two cases of "tennis leg" injury occurring in an occupational rather than athletic setting and review the relevant medical literature.

RESULTS

Partial tears of the medial insertion of the gastrocnemius tendon were documented in both cases, in the first through magnetic resonance imaging and in the second by ultrasound.

CONCLUSION

Rupture of the tendon to the medial head of the gastrocnemius, the so-called "tennis leg" injury, should be considered as potentially work-related trauma, rather than taken to be solely a sports injury.