Calf Strains for 6 months - doctor would do what?

[FlyingBoat]

I pulled both calfs during a drill 6 months ago. Right one is worse than the left. I have played very little since then. Though I have hit the ball with my kids in doubles a bit now and then trying not to move much. When I think it is good enough I try a little bit again but there is still a lot of pain. I am trying to hold out for 6 weeks without activity to see if that will heal it. But it is hard not to continue to put strain on it. Just walking puts stain on them.

What I don't understand about the advice is everyone says not to stretch it if you feel pain. I always feel pain, so it never will be stretched!

Also, advice says to see doctor if pain persists, which I guess I am going to do. But when I have gone to doctors before they say something like, have you rested it for 6 weeks or more which I haven't so I guess that needs to be done first.

The other thing I don't understand about the advice regarding seeing a doctor is that no one says what the doctors can do. Are they just going to recommend some therapy? If so, could someone post that here so I don't need to go see a doctor? I haven't read anything about surgery for this sort of thing, so what is a doctor going to do? Prescribe some extra strength advil? I think I can manage to buy a couple of pills on my own.

I am fine with seeing a doctor, but no one on any of these notes or on any of the websites say what seeing a doctor will do for you! They only say, if pain persists see a doctor. Great advice. See them and they will do what? If they have some great therapy, then you would think somewhere on the web or in these news groups that therapy could be read.

I guess I could get massages, but I am capable of reaching my calves myself so I think I could do that as well. Maybe they can apply some electric shock therapy such as a chiropractor would do.

My experience is that seeing a doctor is a total waste 98% of the time and these doctors are not nearly as educated in the information common people can share on the internet. So in this case I would at least like to know, what in possibility they could recommend. I hate going to them to find out something that I could have learned in 5 minutes without paying the big bucks.

[slewisoh]

Six months is a long time to go with that kind of pain. If you have pain even with walking you need to see a doctor.

Do you have any friends or fellow tennis players who can recommend a sports orthopedic? It sounds like you have had negative experiences in the past. But if you go into an appointment expecting to be disappointed, chances are good you will be disappointed.

Without knowing what your issue is, your self-help approach could actually cause further harm. At least find out what the problem is before you decide to heal yourself.

[armand]

Also, advice says to see doctor if pain persists, which I guess I am going to do. But when I have gone to doctors before they say something like, have you rested it for 6 weeks or more which I haven't so I guess that needs to be done first.It sounds like you've already rested enough to see the doctor for the next step. I mean, no one can be asked to completely rest for 6 weeks. If anything was going to heal by resting, it should've healed by now I think!

I also have little faith in the medical profession but I would definitely go see a specialist because your injury sounds serious and perhaps even a little bizarre.

Are you sure you've searched thoroughly on the internet? It sounds like it could be a severe muscle strain or even an injury to the tendons. Don't just look under 'calf injuries'.

[Marius_Hancu]

you might have a serious tear. only a doc could diagnose that and tell you what to do then.

[bcaz]

I've been an avid runner for decades and a tennis player for 8 years. I'm 52. My running logs tell me I had 18-20 lower leg injuries over the years, but just one -- a bad one, five years ago -- since I started playing tennis. Yes, absolutely, see a doctor, but ultimately you will have to take responsibility for your own healing, repair, strengthening and flexibility. Lower leg injuries can bee very painful and limiting. Very frustrating, too. You're anxious to come back, think you're okay, and then pop! You're worse off than before. They can heal in a week, six weeks, or six months or even longer -- it varies and recovery time is also age-dependent. In general, DO NOT rush it -- take at least twice as long as you think you need. When you come back, your leg will have atrophied. You will need to do twice the strength work on the injured leg as on the healthy leg, but very, very gradually. Stretching can only be introduced very gently and incrementally, and only after healing is substantially complete. After you're back, you must be vigilant about strength work and stretching and BACKING OFF AND RESTING when tightness foreshadows a potential new strain. The residual scar tissue is a constant factor to manage and control, and with good fortune, reduce over a long period of time. Patience.

[Marius_Hancu]

I also wonder if there couldn't be something related to your shoes:

Oh, my aching...achilles
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=91995

perhaps you need better (orthotics) support

[FlyingBoat]

Well, I took 6 weeks off of no tennis until early June. I have been able to play some limited tennis this summer but never go full out using my legs and the pain never subsides from either calf. I felt it pop again in the right leg three weeks ago, and now just hobbling around a bit on the court it popped again.

I wonder if the problem all along is everything I was reading here says don't stretch the muscle until the pain has gone away, so I spent several months without much stretching because it always felt injured and painful even walking around.

But reading this site,

http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/calfmuscleinjury.html

it says, "After the first five days however, treatment should be concentrated more on exercises to stretch out the healing tissue in the line of the muscle and tendon to avoid a haphazard array of healing muscle units that will predispose to further tears. These exercises should include stretching of both the deep and superficial calf muscles, so will involve stretching the calf with the knee straight and the knee bent."

So witch is it? Stretch 5 days after the injury or let it go for weeks to months with no stretching while it heals?

It does seem that even moderate stretching does cause more tearing. My calves are definetly injured for a few days after doing a bit of stretching. I thought my calves were doing a bit better so I did some of this stretching it describes and pop a couple of days the muscle tears again on the court.

[slewisoh]

Did you ever see a doctor or are you still determined to self-diagnose?

[varuscelli]

I am nursing along a pretty serious seeming calf injury that I suffered about 5 days ago and want to do everything I can to make sure it heals the best it can.

I have to admit, reading this thread is kind of scary and depressing.

BUT . . . have you seen anyone (doctor, physical therapist) about your injury yet? Looks like you must have suffered the initial injury in roughly October-November 2005, if I'm reading this thread correctly. Man, that's way too long not to have consulted a professional about it, if this is really the case.

If I were you, rather than wait any longer, I would at least consult some professional about it. See what they have to say and how they advise you to proceed. Maybe even see someone who specializes in sports injuries to see if they can help.

Also, your age is likely going to be a factor in your healing. I know I don't get over things as easily at 48 as I did at 20. I'm guessing you're somewhere in between, and hopefully experienced enough to know when your own approach is not working out for the best.

From your ongoing description of the problem, it seems like you need outside help. Don't want to be a nag here, but you ought to go out and get it. Want to play tennis again? Do whatever you have to do to get back out there. Even if you don't fully trust them you need to do something (believe me, I've had bad experiences with some doctors myself, but also some very positive experiences, even to the extent of having had my life saved by the intervention of doctors on two occasions). Sometimes you have to put aside distrust, if that's what you feel, for the best chance at preserving your personal physical well being.

Hope you can get this worked out. I really feel badly for you in this. And I sure don't want to let myself get in your same position, so I'll consider your thread something of a warning of what might happen. :(

[chess9]

I did that last December to my right gastroc. I heard it pop when I twisted and ran for a ball. Very painful. I essentially took two whole weeks off any serious movement. I would stand on the court and hit balls fed me by the ball machine so I didn't lose as much hand/eye coordination. Net drills without moving the feet. (bad habit but I was desperate) Anyway, after two weeks I would warm up the leg with some walking, then some easy jogging, followed by some easy stretches. After a few more weeks I started some calf raises at the gym. I've been doing the stretches and the calf raises for 9 months now without a problem. Keep the tendons and ligaments well stretched. Your achilles tendon is critical. It should be stretched 10 times per day if necessary. If you sit at a desk all day, your achilles and hammies and lower back will get very tight. Stretch a lot. That's my view, but I have never forked lightning or found El Dorado. :)

-Robert

[OrangeOne]

So witch is it? Stretch 5 days after the injury or let it go for weeks to months with no stretching while it heals?

Please, please, PLEASE go to see a medical professional. I don't know how the medical system works where you are, here you can book yourself straight into a sports physiotherapist, who usually should be the first port of call for sports injury in my humble opinion. Maybe where you are you need to be referred by a doctor, if so, go this route, and ASK the doctor to refer you to a sports physiotherapist.

I actually agree with you - about 5% - in that medical doctors are often bad at treating sports injuries. Here they'll often send you for an x-ray, and tell you to rest.

I have a great relationship with my physio - he has overseen me through a few different surgeries, and we share common interests and have become mates outside of the professional relationship. STILL, if I call him and say "this hurts and that hurts", he'll get me to come into the office (and please no-one say it's for the money, as I don't pay to see him), seemingly as the body is often WAY too complex to phone diagnose, and he is at the top of his profession, having worked with professional athletes for decades.

PLEASE see a physio or other appropriate medical professional, your case is beyond the sublime and definitely into the ridiculous. To put it a more formal way, your injury has exceeded any normal time-frame and you may well be doing (more) long-term damage every day. To put by way of analogy (and assuming you're not a mechanic/technician), when your car / TV / etc has problems, do you read on the internet and try and fix it yourself with a screwdriver, or do you take it to a qualified mechanic? Now - what do you value more - your body and your ability to move freely - or your car / TV / etc?

[You cannot be serious !!!]

PLEASE see a physio or other appropriate medical professional, your case is beyond the sublime and definitely into the ridiculous. To put it a more formal way, your injury has exceeded any normal time-frame and you may well be doing (more) long-term damage every day. To put by way of analogy (and assuming you're not a mechanic/technician), when your car / TV / etc has problems, do you read on the internet and try and fix it yourself with a screwdriver, or do you take it to a qualified mechanic? Now - what do you value more - your body and your ability to move freely - or your car / TV / etc?

Well said. I use this analogy all the time.

Mate, i think everyone is telling you to get it checked out. DO IT - and don't delay any longer. Ask someone to recommend a good physio or doctor

[FlyingBoat]

Regarding the analogy, if the tv repairman charged me $350 to tell me to shut the tv off for 2 months and then come back to see him if it didn't work any more after that, then I would have preferred to find that advice on the internet LOL!

Just going from past experience. Every other pulled muscle has gone away with time, even an earlier calf pull, and when I have gone in to see a doctor they have just told me to rest it, but this one has been going on for too long!

I did get to play quite a bit this summer and won the league I was in so I was able to play pretty hard for a couple of months, but would still take it pretty easy on the calves and they would always be sore, kind of ran around a bit stiff legged and didn't jump for overheads etc. Played a little too hard on labor day which reaggravated it much more.

I will probably see a physio.. but I have the feeling I am going down the road of spending $1000 or more for simple advice, with the only variable being their opinion of when I can start stretching and when I could play a bit again.

But thanks for the positive feedback on sports therapists. I guess I will try to go that route. I was just asking in this thread what else someone else would do besides telling you to rest and stretch. Perhaps massage would help. If the only advice you see anyone ever say is RICE then it seems a bit foolish paying someone to hear that again! But maybe that is what it takes to get me to RICE it enough!

[varuscelli]

If you do see a specialist about it, or if you start working with a physical therapist, please do let us know how it works out. I for one really want you to find a resolution for this -- and then I want to HEAR about it. ;)

Just be sure to post occasional progress reports.

[slewisoh]

I'm having coffee with a friend tomorrow who is recovering from a calf tear. She was on crutches for nearly two weeks and is starting PT this week. I will see if she has any info to share but NOT so that you can try to fix it yourself. There are all types of issues you could have (compartment syndrome, mineral imbalances etc) and you need evaluation to determine the best course of action.

I've seen this friend deal with injuries before. She's a physician and will follow her sports ortho's advice exactly. I am willing to bet she will be on the court faster and without the risk of re-injury than if she had managed this on her own.

I'll let you know what I find out.

[varuscelli]

I'm having coffee with a friend tomorrow who is recovering from a calf tear. She was on crutches for nearly two weeks and is starting PT this week. I will see if she has any info to share but NOT so that you can try to fix it yourself. There are all types of issues you could have (compartment syndrome, mineral imbalances etc) and you need evaluation to determine the best course of action.

I've seen this friend deal with injuries before. She's a physician and will follow her sports ortho's advice exactly. I am willing to bet she will be on the court faster and without the risk of re-injury than if she had managed this on her own.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Excellent! I'll look forward to reading what she has to say, if you get enough from the conversation that you consider worth reporting.

[OrangeOne]

I was just asking in this thread what else someone else would do besides telling you to rest and stretch. Perhaps massage would help.

Fair point, you did ask that and many, including myself, sent you to a medico because, to be honest, your condition is so beyond any other help (in mine and other's humble opinion) that we missed some of your question.

Things that different medicos (doctors, physios, chiros etc have done for me:)

0. DIAGNOSED the problem. The hardest and most complicated bit, as the body doesn't come with an bonnet/hood that can be lifted!

1. At minimum: Prescribed the LENGTH of time that one should rest. This comes from diagnosis, and then is based on learning and years of experience. Only 1 of those three things can be done on the 'net, and if the DIAGNOSIS (the hardest bit) is done incorrectly, any learning you do from the 'net will be useless anyways.

2. Prescribed the type of stretching, and then gone through a structured learning process as to how to do that stretching. Rarely, if ever, has a physio given me a stretch that is the same as one you'd learn at the gym. These are very specific stretches, some that I can't imagine learning without *at minimum* a video to watch.

3. Performed massage. In most cases some massage has been performed, for a variety of reasons (perhaps stimulating blood flow to the area, perhaps to loosen surrounding tight muscles that may have caused / contributed to the injury).

4. Sometimes: acupuncture. Sometimes: Electrical impulse-style therapy.

5. Once the immediate injury starts to resolve (or earlier if possible), works out WHY the injury occurred, and prescribes stretching and strengthening exercises to prevent it's re-occurrence! This is paramount. NB. These exercises, again, are usually not the ones you see joe schmo doing in a gym. Often they're working or stretching small, supporting muscles, and are often designed to re-establish a correct posture / balance / etc.

6. Sometimes: manufacture orthotics to correct a structural imbalance that can't be fixed by '5'.

7. Prescribe anti-inflammatories or pain-relief to enable you to get on with normal life, hopefully without making an injury worse.

8. Diagnosed a serious problem (ligament tears / meniscal tears / etc etc) and either arranged for detailed scans (ct / mri) or referred the issue on to an appropriate specialist / surgeon for further diagnosis.

9. Designed a "returning to sport" program, to keep you sane - ie. what you should be able to do, and when. It's nice to see that structure in front of you.

10. Recommended in the first few days etc...that the injury be treated with the RICE method ;)

[FlyingBoat]

You guys are great. Thanks for the info. On a positive note, I believe I have found the cure for my tennis elbow and shoulder problem, but its a bit too early to tell and I won't be doing much tennis for a while to know if it makes a difference longer term.

But it always surprised me that people talk about using heavier flexy rackets for TE, since I developed mine in high school using a flexy wood racket that kept me out of the game for many years and has flared up at times when I have been back into it the last three years keeping me out a couple of months at a time. This is another one of those things doctor's could do nothing about, not even the Mayo clinic. It hasn't been real bad the last year but it definetly had problems and I would ice it down every time after playing. The shoulder was more of a problem in the last year or so.

There is research out there that says its the twisting on off center hits, not the stiff rackets that cause the problem. Its probably different for different people. I have been using a BB double strung racket the last couple of months and I can't believe how good my elbow and shoulder feel. It is a very stable racket. Though, my wife took one hit with it and winced in pain from her TE, but she is having current flare ups. It may be that it is just different strokes for different folks. My TE, by the way is really more golphers elbow between the bones on the inner side of the arm, which I understand make up about 10% of what people call tennis elbow. This was definetly a problem severely limiting my play. Now I can whack away with no problem. If only my legs could get me there! :)

[sameermd]

you might consider something besides injury causing this pain....for example...cholesterol lowering medications classically can ause some muscles pain, certain antibiotics (cipro, levaquin, etc) can cause cartilage issues, and more what i wonder if you may have.....claudication (form of peripheral vascular disease) . Get someone to check your blood pressures in your ankles and both arm, compares the ratios...should be at least 0.8. Talk to your doc about this.

I wonder if this isnt acutally an injury because...why both legs at the same time.
Now improper shoes definitly could be an issue...but hopefully you would have figured this out by now.

[slewisoh]

you might consider something besides injury causing this pain....for example...cholesterol lowering medications classically can ause some muscles pain, certain antibiotics (cipro, levaquin, etc) can cause cartilage issues, and more what i wonder if you may have.....claudication (form of peripheral vascular disease) . Get someone to check your blood pressures in your ankles and both arm, compares the ratios...should be at least 0.8. Talk to your doc about this.

I wonder if this isnt acutally an injury because...why both legs at the same time.
Now improper shoes definitly could be an issue...but hopefully you would have figured this out by now.

I took Levaquin last fall for a nasty sinus infection. After resting and recovering for about 2 days, I felt well enough to play a bit of tennis. Within the first few minutes I was sure I had pulled my calf muscle. Hobbled home. Started feeling achy in both achilles and wrists. As it happened a nurse from the doc's office called to see how I was progressing (it was a really nasty infection) and when I mentioned my achiness she advised me to immediately stop taking the Levaquin.

I should have read the label, but honestly, I never though that an antibiotic could do such harm.

[FlyingBoat]

Sameermd, thanks for the input. These are injuries. I know exactly when they happened. Only two of us showed up for a drill night and the instructor kept having us do overheads where we would be running backward to get to them. I jerked both calves on one attempt, but like an idiot kept playing the rest of the session, and must have tore them up pretty bad. My previous experience I was able to play about a week after the calf injury.

[rgoodwin13]

The "pop" is a sign of a grade III muscle sprain. Not a good thing. You should see a ortho specialist if you have a "pop", a lump, or bruising.

A quality cold compression wrap will help while the injury is healing during rest. But the "pop" is worrisome.

[jackson vile]

I pulled both calfs during a drill 6 months ago. Right one is worse than the left. I have played very little since then. Though I have hit the ball with my kids in doubles a bit now and then trying not to move much. When I think it is good enough I try a little bit again but there is still a lot of pain. I am trying to hold out for 6 weeks without activity to see if that will heal it. But it is hard not to continue to put strain on it. Just walking puts stain on them.

What I don't understand about the advice is everyone says not to stretch it if you feel pain. I always feel pain, so it never will be stretched!

Also, advice says to see doctor if pain persists, which I guess I am going to do. But when I have gone to doctors before they say something like, have you rested it for 6 weeks or more which I haven't so I guess that needs to be done first.

The other thing I don't understand about the advice regarding seeing a doctor is that no one says what the doctors can do. Are they just going to recommend some therapy? If so, could someone post that here so I don't need to go see a doctor? I haven't read anything about surgery for this sort of thing, so what is a doctor going to do? Prescribe some extra strength advil? I think I can manage to buy a couple of pills on my own.

I am fine with seeing a doctor, but no one on any of these notes or on any of the websites say what seeing a doctor will do for you! They only say, if pain persists see a doctor. Great advice. See them and they will do what? If they have some great therapy, then you would think somewhere on the web or in these news groups that therapy could be read.

I guess I could get massages, but I am capable of reaching my calves myself so I think I could do that as well. Maybe they can apply some electric shock therapy such as a chiropractor would do.

My experience is that seeing a doctor is a total waste 98% of the time and these doctors are not nearly as educated in the information common people can share on the internet. So in this case I would at least like to know, what in possibility they could recommend. I hate going to them to find out something that I could have learned in 5 minutes without paying the big bucks.


An MD will simply give you medication as that is what they do, and a surgeon well you know. My point is that you need to go see the right doctor.

Who should you go see, a soft tissue specialist. You want to look up what Dr practive ART active realease technique, MFR myo facial realease, ect.

They will be able to tell you exactly what is going on, and they will treat you with out cutting you open, and completely solve the problem.

This are the types of Dr the pro go see, and there is a reason.

[fabsuk2000]

I say you should not bother with the doctor as they don t understand your problem and probably dont care.Unless you are dying they will say live with pain.

BUY a book on trigger point therapy.There is a good one on amazon.it is a must for injuries,but if u have calf problems most massages wont do.acupuncturee would probably fix it,the muscle might be very tight and bunched up.

trust me u can go from doctor to doctor with useless advice.

a needle can really stimulate the muscle to heal better, and put a massage oil that will heat it up.

DO NOT USE DEEP HEAT.ALL it will do is release the muscle but then tighten up other muscles.

Ur problem can easily be fixed if u understand the problem.

Taking a pain killer is not only bad for u but will not fix the problem