Calf strain treatment plan

Two main muscles make up the majority of your calf.

The gastrocnemius muscle is the most superficial. It makes up the bulkier part at the top of your calf and originates from behind your knee.

The soleus muscle lies deep to the gastrocnemius muscle. Its fibers run down into your lower leg, almost as far down as your heel.

These muscles join to form a thick fascia layer called the Achilles tendon, which inserts into your heel bone.

A calf strain injury involves either of these muscles and sometimes both.

• You heard or felt a pop when you injured your leg – or it felt like someone kicked you in the back of the heel – especially if it was in the area of your Achilles tendon. These may indicate a severe Achilles tendon tear, and you should have it investigated immediately. Delaying proper treatment or following the wrong advice can result in your tendon not healing correctly.
• You think your injury is severe, with lots of swelling and bruising.
• Your leg (thigh, calf, or foot) is very swollen, red, hot to touch, or throbs with pain. These signs can indicate a blood clot, and you should have it investigated immediately.
• Night pain keeps you awake or interrupts your sleep.
• You have pins and needles or tingling in your leg, which may indicate possible nerve injury, and our treatment plan may not be suitable for you.
• Your symptoms are getting worse.
• Your injury isn’t healing within the expected healing timeframes (mentioned in later sections).

• Overtraining: Not allowing your body to fully recover after a high-intensity session causes an accumulation of micro-damage in your muscle, and you can strain it more easily.
• Fatigue: You are much more likely to tear a calf muscle towards the end of a hard training or running session when your muscles are tired.
• Sudden increases in running intensities and volume don’t allow your muscles enough time to adapt and grow stronger, making them vulnerable to injury.
• Weak calf muscles are prone to strain under forceful contractions during sprinting, hill running, jumping, or kicking.
• A previous calf strain makes you more at risk of re-injury, especially if you haven’t fully recovered from the initial injury.
• Poor strength and control in your lower back and core muscles can also lead to injury. A weakness in these areas may cause overloading of the calves.
• Insufficient warm-ups, especially before intense training sessions: “Cold” muscles have a higher risk of straining.
• Older age also increases your calf strain risk. Therefore, regular strength training sessions are essential to mitigate muscle loss and strength reductions associated with aging.

• First, your body gets rid of the injured cells through an inflammatory process (Stage 1).
• Next, your body creates new muscle cells to replace the damaged ones (Stage 2).
• Finally, your body strengthens the new muscle cells, but only in response to the correct exercises which stimulate this process (Stage 3).

Recovery time

• A very mild calf strain usually heals within 15 to 21 days.
• More severe strains can take between 20 and 60 days to recover fully.
• If you have a very severe strain involving a large part of the muscle or the tendons, it can take 90 days or longer to recover fully.
• If you’ve neglected your calf strain for a while, tried to train on it, and reinjured it a few times, it may take several months to heal.

Prevention

• Do regular strength training for your calves.
• Keep up good core strength and control – as well as in the rest of your muscles.
• Allow sufficient recovery time after hard training sessions. If your calves are constantly tight and uncomfortable, it may be a sign that they are not getting enough time to recover.
• Avoid sudden increases in running volumes or intensity. Your body needs time to adapt and grow stronger.
• Incorporate a sufficient warm-up before you train, especially before intense training sessions.