How Did You Strain Your Calf Muscle?
I strained my calf muscle moving heavy items up stairs. This involved going up and down three sets of ten stairs multiple times while bearing weight and pivoting on the balls of my feet and my heels. I have previously injured this muscle and suffer from frequent night-time Charlie Horse cramps and spasms.
Describe Your Calf Strain Rehab Experience
I continued to move items up the stairs after my injury for approximately 2 hours, making 20-30 trips in that time. I was then forced to sit in a car for another 3 hours, with very restricted movement. By the time I was able to treat my injury, I was in serious pain and barely able to walk. I applied an ACE bandage and surrounded it with four gel ice packs, resting and elevating my leg on a pillow. I slept with my leg in the bandage. The next day, I still had very little movement in the leg and tried to keep my activity to a minimum, though I did have many things to do. I allowed my body to compensate naturally through limping and used RICE on my muscle between chores and errands. By the third day, I was able to move somewhat more naturally, although I still restricted myself and used RICE whenever I felt any muscle fatigue. I continued to limit my activity for two weeks, but stopped using RICE after day four and stopped using the ACE bandage at night after day five.
Advice
- Use compression bandages overnight to prevent sleeping movements from doing damage.
- If possible, rest injured muscle on a pillow while sleeping to further limit potential injury.
- If you cannot address the injury immediately, do so as soon as possible.
- Limit activity even when there is no pain for at least a week.
- Allow your body to compensate naturally - don't try to avoid limping.
- Also be aware of how your other muscles are feeling and keep them stretched and rested to avoid more injuries.
How Long Did It Take to Heal?
Five days to no longer cramp or spasm, one week to be completely pain-free and two weeks to return to previous health.
