What happens if your calf hurts

When calf muscles are overstretched, injuries can occur. Calf strains are tears to the muscle tissue, and very by how severe they are. In some cases, strains will not impact your daily activities, but some require surgery and can take months to heal. The initial treatment for a calf strain is R.

Your healthcare provider may also recommend taking an anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen, for up to three days to reduce pain and swelling. The R. E protocol—rest, ice, compression and elevation—is the first line of treatment for muscle injuries like strains and sprains.

Some calf strains need more than simply the R. Depending on how bad your injury is, you may need rehabilitation with a physical therapist. Your physical therapist may recommend certain exercises, including:. Be sure to follow the advice of your therapist when beginning these exercises. The goal of rehabilitation is to return to normal activity as quickly as possible without long-term effects. If you return too soon, you risk developing a chronic injury.

Keep in mind that everyone recovers at a different rate—and your rehab needs to be tailored to your needs and your progress—not the calendar. If you have a calf muscle strain, a visit to a healthcare provider and a physical therapist is recommended to ensure a proper diagnosis and fast rehabilitation. Taking steps to heal properly can help make sure you regain full function of your injured muscles and prevent future strains.

Not all acute calf pain is caused by muscle injuries. Sometimes, the pain can indicate something more serious—like a blood clot. Below are other potential causes for calf pain. Tennis leg is usually a sports-related injury, and it most commonly affects people who are middle-aged.

It is usually a tear of the gastrocnemius muscle, and it can also occur due to a fluid collection between the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscle. This is why it's so important to have an accurate diagnosis. A far less severe, but often painful cause of calf pain is a muscle cramp, or spasm. This involuntary contraction of a muscle is short-lived, but it may be so strong that it causes a bruise.

A direct blow to your calf may cause a contusion bruise as blood pools in the area. Most muscle bruises are mild and can be treated with the R. E protocol. Acute calf pain may also be the result of a deep vein thrombosis DVT , which is a blood clot in a vein.

Clots can break loose and travel to the lungs, which is serious and life-threatening. If your healthcare provider suspects a DVT in your leg, they will order an ultrasound of your leg to confirm the diagnosis.

A blood clot requires immediate therapy with a blood thinner. It can be tricky to tell the difference between a muscle or tendon injury, which is why it is important to see a healthcare provider for acute calf pain. A Baker's cyst is a fluid-filled sac that usually forms as a result of arthritis in the knee joint.

It may cause swelling or achiness, or no symptoms at all. A large or ruptured Baker's cyst can cause calf pain or swelling. Usually, Baker's cysts resolve on their own, but sometimes a steroid injection in the joint can reduce swelling and discomfort. Surgery is needed in rare cases. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body. It connects the heel of the foot to two calf muscles the gastrocnemius and the soleus.

A tear or rupture of the Achilles tendon causes acute pain at the back of the ankle or lower leg lower than the calf muscle. In some cases, an audible "pop" or "snap" may be heard. If you believe you may have injured your Achilles tendon, apply ice and elevate your leg right away. You will need to see a healthcare provider right away to determine whether or not the tendon is intact and whether surgery is needed.

For athletes, calf muscle strains are common—but treatable—injuries. After 2 or 3 days, you can try alternating cold with heat. To use heat, put a warm water bottle, a heating pad set on low, or a warm cloth on your calf. Do not go to sleep with a heating pad on your skin. Wrap your lower leg with an elastic bandage such as an Ace wrap to help decrease swelling. Don't wrap it too tightly, since this can cause more swelling below the affected area.

Loosen the bandage if it gets too tight. Signs that the bandage is too tight include numbness, tingling, increased pain, coolness, or swelling in the area below the bandage. Prop up the leg on a pillow when you ice it or anytime you sit or lie down during the next 3 days. Try to keep it above the level of your heart. This will help reduce swelling. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.

If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed. If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine. Don't do anything that makes the pain worse. Return to exercise gradually as you feel better. For more serious injuries, treatment may include physical therapy or surgery. How can you prevent calf muscle injuries?

When you exercise, try to: Warm up. Before any sport or intense activity, gradually warm up your body by doing 5 to 10 minutes of walking or biking. Cool down and stretch. However, sometimes calf pain can be a symptom of something more serious.

Calf pain is usually caused by cramp, when the muscles suddenly contract. This might happen if you have been doing new exercises, if you are dehydrated, or if you are deficient in some minerals. Cramps normally go away quite quickly by themselves. The calf is made up of 2 muscles called the gastrocnemius and the soleus. They meet at the Achilles tendon which is attached to the heel bone. Overstretching or tearing either of these 2 calf muscles is known as a calf strain. Normally there is a sudden pain in the calf, and you may feel a pop, snap or tear.

A calf strain may also mean you experience the following symptoms:. Seek medical attention straight away if you have the symptoms of DVT and you have recently been sitting for a long time, such as on a flight.

These include if:. Use our Question Builder for general tips on what to ask your GP or specialist. You can take anti-inflammatory medicines to relieve pain and bring down the swelling. After 48 hours, start stretching and strengthening the muscle, for example by doing heel raises and calf stretches. Don't return to full physical activity until you can move your ankle and knee properly, the pain and tenderness have gone, and the strength has fully returned to your calf.

Always stretch before and after you exercise to repair and strengthen the calf. Drink plenty of water to avoid cramps. Magnesium supplements have been shown to prevent cramps in some people, especially pregnant women, although the evidence is not conclusive. If you have diabetes , keep your blood sugar levels under control to prevent diabetic neuropathy.

Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Read more on Better Health Channel website. The risk of DVT doubles after a long-haul flight. Find out about the symptoms and risk factors for DVT, and how to prevent it. Read more on myDr website. This article tells consumers about deep venous thrombosis DVT of the leg and how it is diagnosed, including what imaging tests they may need to have.

Read more on Diagnostic Imaging Pathways website. Deep vein thrombosis DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the leg.