Torn Calf Muscle-5 Wks In

[sjb]

Hi there, I am new to this site & looking for some help.

I tore my gastroc muscle 5 weeks ago. Was in emerg within 12 hours of it happening where I was given crutches to use & an appointment for an ultrasound & with an orthopedic surgeon. Within a week I found out I had torn my gastroc muscle & was given an air cast to be worn for 6-8 weeks. At this time I was also told that I could start walking without my crutches when I can walk without a limp. A short time ago I was able to start walking without my crutches, I was incredibly slow but just happy to be rid of them! A week of this & feeling pretty good I decided to go back to work (I work in an office so I am really not moving around all that much). Just as day two ended of being back my calf felt "odd", felt like it was really tight & about to get a cramp or pull...it just didn't feel right & I was so afraid I was going to do more to injure it. Since then I have been working from home & been pretty good at staying off of it. It has now been three days since this incident & it still feels incredibly sore. I also find I am getting a lot of "twitches" & even got what I can best describe as a sort of calf cramp but in the exact area of where the tear is which is the lower portion of the gastroc muscle. It scared me to death & I stopped what I was doing & yelled for the kids to grab me my crutches. My ortho specialist is a great Dr & I have no problems with him at all, but he failed to tell me what I should expect with this healing process. I have no idea if what I am feeling is completely normal or if I am over-reacting with "babying" it again. I do go back to see him in 2 weeks, but I really don't think I can wait another two weeks just to find out that I can be moving around & what I am feeling is completely normal or to get yelled at because I did start moving around when I should be sitting on my butt doing absolutely nothing. I haven't had a leg injury since I was 12 years old & back then I was still running around cast & all! I am a 34 year old mother of 3 & this sitting doing nothing is killing me. It has been the most frustrating 5 weeks of my entire life. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same injury & what they went through & experienced during the healing process. I find it is incredibly hard to find anything regarding this injury with the same severity as mine. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Jrahien]

With a torn gastroc, I'm not surprised you feel like that. Even though it doesn't hurt as much anymore, there is still damage there that's going to take more time to be repaired. The spasm is likely your nervous system continuing to wig out due to the overall injury. (Ice can stop muscle spasms, so try that.) The tightness, however, is probably due to the amount of scar tissue in your muscle. It's just like your skin, in that when it got torn, it got replaced by less flexible (and less strong) scar tissue, and it will take time to for that wound to feel like new again. You're probably going to need some rehab on the muscle to realign the tissue (as in, getting all the fibers running in the same direction again so increase tensile strength).

 

[sjb]

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Albert Smith]

I want to go to the right of the issue. So it would be better if you don’t take it another way. I think that there is no problem with your doc and his treatment. See each of every crack need certain amount of time to repair. Don’t expect quick result. It would just make the situation worse. It is true that you need to check and recheck with your doc. I know some ways which you may apply in your home. If you follow all of my advice along with your doc then you may recover soon. So please read carefully, apply cautiously and more importantly give certain amount of time to get result:

• When we first experience a pulled calf muscle, it will have a tendency to swell. To reduce swelling, you will need to keep your leg elevated higher that your heart for the first 24 hours. Swelling usually goes down two weeks after you pull your calf muscle.

• You will also need to wear a compression bandage when you have a pulled calf muscle. This will keep blood from poling in your foot and causing additional swelling. Just make sure you don’t wrap it too tightly and completely cut off blood circulation. The compression bandage should be wrapped from the toes up to the leg so swelling doesn’t occur below the wrapping.

• Anti-inflammatory medications are also useful for treating a pulled calf muscle. Tylenol, ibuprofen and aspirin will reduce your pain. But you should still not return to doing any physical activities if the medications reduce your pain but you still have feel tenderness in your calf.

• It is also a good idea to apply ice to your pulled calf muscle. You should do this 4 times a day for 20 minutes each time. Make sure you wrap the ice in a towel or something because you should never apply ice directly to your skin.

• One of the most important things you need to do after experiencing a pulled calf muscle is to get a lot of rest. You should especially avoid activities that require the use of your leg such as lifting weights, running and jumping. You will need to avoid these activities until the pain and tenderness of the calk has gone away.

• You should consider wearing a heel pad if you have a pulled calf muscle. These pads reduce the strain on your muscle by shortening it. You should wear one in each shoe so that there will be no imbalance when you stand or walk. This imbalance can increase your likelihood of developing a back injury.

These are a few tips for treating a pulled calf muscle. Make sure you give your injury enough time to heal. If you return to physical activity too soon, you will increase risk for developing a chronic injury.