Calf (Gastrocnemius) Tear Rehab: 7 Weeks Post-Injury!!!

[melmos20]

I tore my calf about 7 weeks ago at football practice. I do not start therapy until 3 weeks from now and have no idea what I should do. I went two days after the injury to see my orthopedic and he gave me a Theraband to stretch it and said to ice. What should I do right now in the meantime I go to therapy? Would it be okay to start running on it since I am out of shape and i need to get ready for camp?

I don't have access to an untrasound machine or stem, so what should I do? I also read that I should be doing sports massage..is there any way that I can do it myself?

And, I still can't contract my calf and there is significant muscle atrophy and I can feel a "bump" at the base of the calf.

Thanks for your help.

[melmos20]

oh, and it swells easily. I can easily tell when I'm wearing socks and when I take them off, you can easily tell. Why is it still getting swollen?

[Heidi]

Hi

Why has there been such a long delay in starting therapy? - waiting list?

There are lots of things you can do yourself. Have a look at our calf strain page:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/backlowerleg/calfstrain.htm

Was it a full rupture? Or a partial tear? Have you had a splint on? Or any other treatment at all?

I take it that if you are considering running then you are walking on it fine. If this is the case then you should be concentrating on stretching the muscles 3-5 times a day and also strengthening with calf raises every day, gradually increasing the amount you do.

Make sure you can do all of this pain-free and build up your strength first. If this is ok, try some other lower impact work such as skipping before you go for a run.

You can do massage yourself but it is very difficult on the calf as you cannot reach it properly and so I recommend you wait for a professional to do that for you.

[melmos20]

Well, my doctor didn't send me to therapy when I first went to see him after I got hurt. The only thing he did was give me a Theraband and told me to ice, stretch, and that i could not run on it. He said that it would take about 4-6 weeks to come back. I had been researching online about calf strains and I read that I should be going to therapy and getting ultrasound, massage, and etc. So, I told him that I wanted to go and he barely did the order for me to go. Since I have Kaiser (HMO), it takes time to get an appointment.

I don't know if it was a full rupture. My doc said that I tore my gastrocnemius and that was it. I'm thinking that it was a Grade 2 or maybe a partial Grade 3. The medial head of the gastrocnemius is shorter than my other one. He said I didn't need surgery. I bought a compression sleeve to wear after i read that I should wear one.

Oh, okay. Yeah, I can walk on it fine now. It feels weak and it gets noticeably swollen. How should I increase the load for it and what exercises do you recommend I should do? What do you recommend for cardio since I should not run on it right now and I need to work on my conditioning? I have been doing the stationary bike and was thinking about swimming?

Thank you for your help.

[QUOTE=Heidi;2722]Hi

Why has there been such a long delay in starting therapy? - waiting list?

There are lots of things you can do yourself. Have a look at our calf strain page:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/backlowerleg/calfstrain.htm

Was it a full rupture? Or a partial tear? Have you had a splint on? Or any other treatment at all?

I take it that if you are considering running then you are walking on it fine. If this is the case then you should be concentrating on stretching the muscles 3-5 times a day and also strengthening with calf raises every day, gradually increasing the amount you do.

Make sure you can do all of this pain-free and build up your strength first. If this is ok, try some other lower impact work such as skipping before you go for a run.

You can do massage yourself but it is very difficult on the calf as you cannot reach it properly and so I recommend you wait for a professional to do that for you.[/QUOTE]

[Heidi]

I would start with calf raises to strengthen, performing both legs together initially and then gradually increasing the weight through the injured leg, until you can perform single leg calf raises.
Also start off standing on the floor and doing this and again progress by standing on a step with the heels off the back, then you can lower the heels past the floor level to make it even harder.

Swimmin and cycling are both fine for CV work

[melmos20]

Okay, thank you. What sets and reps should I perform?

What do you recommend I should do in the pool?

Thanks.

[QUOTE=Heidi;2734]I would start with calf raises to strengthen, performing both legs together initially and then gradually increasing the weight through the injured leg, until you can perform single leg calf raises.
Also start off standing on the floor and doing this and again progress by standing on a step with the heels off the back, then you can lower the heels past the floor level to make it even harder.

Swimmin and cycling are both fine for CV work[/QUOTE]

[Heidi]

Its difficult to say what reps as I don't know what level you're at. Start off with whatever is comfortable for you. This may be 3, or it may be 20. Just start off at a comfortable level, and provided there is no pain or other adverse reaction, do the same for the next few days. If its ok still, start to gradually increase the number. Increase every 2-3 days.

Once you can do 25 reps, split it into 2 sets of 15 to progress, once you can do 2 sets of 20 move on to single leg. Basically just gradually increase what you do, listening to your body!

[melmos20]

I was wondering if my calf is going to remain deformed since the size of it is now shortened when compared to my other one and the medial head is also smaller??? i also have a lump???

I was also wondering what other issues can arise from a torn calf..like achilles tendonitis, etc??

thank you

[Heidi]

Stretching can work to a certain extent to lengthen a muscle, but after an injury such as yours it won't correct the problem.
If the medial head is smaller due to muscle wasting then yes it will increase in size with improvements in strength.
Having a slightly shorter calf may well predispose you to other conditions such as achilles tendonitis. It is basically the same as having tight calf muscles.