Those things may have contributed but I can't draw a direct line. First week of Jan 2016 the last thing I did was some stretching at home and the next day I felt a full in my upper calf. I'd been engaged in weight training program for a few months up to that point. As the month went on things got worse so I started to increasingly modify my exercises around it. Then I developed plantar fasciitis symptoms, which may or may not be related. At the end of March I shut down all exercise. Even walking provoked my calf/hamstring/heel etc. Therapy and such was ongoing and I went to see a podiatrist and this and that and eventually went to see a knee specialist who did an MRI and found a small tear in the meniscus. He said that he couldn't necessarily say that it was the cause of my issues but it was significant that he felt he should take care of it. While in there he polished some old man roughness that wasn't related.

So ... I'm rehabbing the knee and it's coming along nicely. Still don't know if it took care of the issue but that will become clear in time.