More calf problems, but not really the calf
I love you WSMMs, but I hate having to be back in this forum! 
I've got another calf like injury, but this time it's different. You guys know I spend a good portion of last year dealing with and rehabing a calf issue. You folks helped me out a lot in this thread: Yet Another Calf Issue
Now a new calf type issue has returned, but this time it's different. Here's the background. I've been running regularly with no problems and have done a bunch of trail running. About 3 weeks ago I was on the trail and turned my ankle pretty bad. Did the "hop hop hop, please don't let this be bad" dance and then ran a few cautious steps to find the ankle felt OK- so I continued forward. About 15 min later I had some serious tugging in the upper gastroc (left leg), shut the run down, and walked back. I was limping by the time I got to the car. The pain is really high up (no where near where it was last year) and almost behind the knee.
I iced, rolled, and stopped running for 2 weeks and things were feeling great, but then one day, while just walking upstairs to get a cup of tea my left leg just kinda collapsed underneath me. I had a sharp pain to my knee (inside), quad, and back of the hip. I couldn't walk up or down stairs with that leg without it collapsing again. The calf was totally fine. I iced everything and within 2 days everything felt fine. I (dumbass) didn't consider this was related to the calf since the calf didn't hurt.
So then I go out for my next trial run and within 10 min that upper, behind the knee, calf starts pulling again. I walked home and did more icing. All is going well until today when the collapsing leg returns again (although this time not nearly as bad, I kinda felt it coming and shut things down before it really went.
Sooo, WTF??? Do I need to cut the leg off? I found Julia's thread where she was having a similar issue and finally realized everything is probably connected, right? Anyway, I'm at a loss for what to do to rehab this. Do I work on the knee, the calf, the quad? Help!
Comments
Nemo! Is it only in January that you post calf threads??
The good news is the buckling is totally muscular. When you tweak the upper calf the thing to remember is that it criss crosses behind the knee with the hamstring tendons. If one locks up, it can affect all of them and you lose that ability to lock your knee out straight (which is what gives you true stability in the knee when you walk, locking up the joint so that the bones can do the weightbearing versus muscle).
When that happens it also keeps you from pushing off all the way, so the quad/knee cap take a beating.
If it were me- I'd go after it myself to start- full assault on the calf, hammies and adductors (that's going to be your compensation muscle with the hammies hence the quad/knee cap pain- if you can't push off you pull through and the knee gets tweaked). Roller + tennis ball + stretching after folllowed by some ice.
that being said, if you've got the time and resources, could be worth a trip to your favorite massage/ART person to dig out the back of the knee.
Rats I was totally gonna say cut the leg off !