A pulled calf muscle relates to the lower back of your leg strains that make up your calf within the two muscles. They are called muscles of the gastrocnemius and the soleus. When a strain happens, to some extent, muscle fibers are torn.
A pulled calf muscle occurs when the workout exaggerates your inner muscles. This is a prevalent injury to athletes and runners in particular. Pulled muscles of the calf may be chronic due to long-term injury, or short overpulling may be acute and should be treated by family medical experts in OKC.
The calf is not a large or strong muscle but a very significant group of muscles. The calf transfers all the energy from the legs, hips, and back to the floor in a timely way when running or pushing. If the timing of that energy transfer changes ever so slightly, which can readily occur owing to injury, exhaustion, surface area changes, and/or body mechanics change, the muscle(s) of the calf may break.
The calf joint is actually a mix of knee and ankle joint. When running it upraises the heel and helps to bend the knee. When running quickly and altering instructions, both actions are essential. That’s why a strain of the calf can rapidly stop quick players.
Symptoms of Strain
A pulled calf muscle’s symptom may rely on the severity of the injury. A gentle strain can leave you in the reduced half of your leg with pain and pulling emotions. With a gentle strain, you can still walk, but it may be awkward.
Other symptoms are redness, bruise, swelling, and inability to stand.
A serious pull can leave you with feelings of sharp pain in your calf muscles. It can also influence your mobility, preventing you from walking.
When Calf Pain Comes
The tiny muscle fibers that make up the muscle pop or tear, like cutting tiny rubber bands when a muscle is wounded. The more fibers the injury is tearing, the worse. These fibers have a supply of blood and nerves, so they flow into the wound and cause pain when muscle fibers tear.
Initially, more rest is needed for an injured calf muscle than fancy physical therapy methods. Scar tissue is the best friend of a calf. Scar tissue occupies the muscle’s fresh injury wound/hole and pulls the fibers together in a sense. A prevalent error in sports medicine is over-treating a calf strain.
How to Treat Calf Muscle Strain
A gentle muscle strain of the calf may resolve in a few days. Meanwhile, the following home treatments can be used:
- Compresses of ice or cold. Wrap them in soft tissue and place them for 10 minutes on your calf. If you still have swelling, you can repeat the cycle every hour or two during the first three days of your injury.
- Heat pads. Ensure the setting is low, and you don’t sleep on your arm with a heating pad. Try not to immediately use a heating pad as the heat can cause your calf to swell more.
- Leg wraps. These can also contribute to reducing swelling and increasing mobility.
- Propose your arm above the point of your core. That’s going to reduce swelling.
- Rest for a complete day, at least. Only after your calf is totally free of pain and swelling return to practice and your ordinary activities.
Contact Oklahoma Spine & Pain Management for family medical experts in OKC.
**Disclaimer: This content should not be considered medical advice and does not imply a doctor-patient relationship.
