Pulled Muscle

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evans72002
evans72002 Posts: 89 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I pulled a calf muscle back at the beginning of July. It is still not better. I can go days and have no pain if I don't run or jump on it. The second I use that muscle more than walking (running to the car in the rain or jumping across a ditch), it instantly hurts terribly and takes days to feel better. I am so sick of not being able to do anything more vigorous than walking. I went to the dr to rule out a blood clot. 3 months seems like a looong time. Any tried and true ways to speed healing? I enjoy running, especially this time of year and I am going stir crazy.

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  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    My one true method to speed healing: Get a PT on board with my doctor, and figure out an aggressive rehab plan.
  • rogerOb1
    rogerOb1 Posts: 318 Member
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    Definitely speak to a physio

    For me, compression sleeves and recovery runs (i.e. short and much more walking than running) helped sort out my annoying calf issues.
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
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    Sorry guys....out of personal experience, you can't speed it up. It's gotta heal. Any jumping or running will only prolong recovery time. Been there, not funny.
    However, this is what worked for me:

    Getting rid of painkillers. No need to flood my body completely with the stuff, if the only part that's hurt is my calf.

    Spot-treating the area with topical ointments. Preferably 'neutral' (not hot/cold). Stretching was ok, massages or foam rolling not so much. It's an inflammation, not need to annoy it even more.

    My regular strength training. I continued to train everything that didn't hurt, and performed any lifts and body weight exercises possible, that didn't need my foot. I kept the muscles in my body sore (in rotation), adjusted my food intake (plenty of protein, added glutamine, creatine, BCAAs..) and sent my body in full repair mode, calf muscle included. The swelling went down within 2 weeks, and the rainbow colors vanished within 4 more weeks.

    Eventually, I was able to slowly put my foot to work, too. It took a total of 6 months before I was able to resume running and jumping.
    I'd like to add, though, that I had x-rays taken, to make sure I didn't have a fracture, because I stepped down very hard to cause this injury.


    Good luck, get well soon! :flowerforyou:

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