Calf muscle injuries can include strains, tears, or Achilles tendonitis, affecting the gastrocnemius, soleus, or Achilles tendon. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and difficulty pointing toes or standing on tiptoes. Treatment includes rest, ice, compression, and elevation, and recovery can take months. Achilles tendonitis is the most common injury, caused by wear and tear from repetitive movements.
There are two main muscles in the calf or lower leg: the gastrocnemius and the soleus. Since both are powerful plantar flexors of the ankle joint, meaning they point the foot down, both are susceptible to calf muscle injury during explosive movements that require a push off the ground, such as sprinting or jumping. Such injuries, which can affect one or both muscles or the Achilles tendon, which attaches them to the heel bone, can include strains, tears, or Achilles tendonitis.
The first type of calf muscle injury is a muscle strain, not to be confused with a ligament sprain. Strains can involve muscle tissue, a tendon, or both, and involve overstretching the muscle until it tears, often from sudden forward acceleration. The gastrocnemius and soleus become tense as they detach from the tendon.
The Achilles is tense when the tendon separates from the bone. Both injuries are characterized by pain in the back of the lower leg or back of the ankle, swelling, difficulty pointing toes or standing on tiptoes, and often bruising. This type of calf muscle injury can be treated with rest, ice, compression, and elevation, also known as the RICE method.
A more serious type of calf muscle injury is known as a tear. Technically a type of strain, a tear occurs when muscle tissue tears partially or completely. Likewise, a gastrocnemius or soleus tear occurs when the muscle separates from the tendon, while an Achilles injury — also known as a rupture — involves partial or complete separation of the tendon from the bone. In complete tears, the muscle and/or tendon can coil under the skin, so these injuries are characterized by more severe pain and bruising, extreme swelling, and an inability to point toes or stand on leg. Recovery from a calf muscle or Achilles injury can take months and may require surgery to reattach the muscle to the tendon or the tendon to the bone.
Of the different types of calf muscle injury, Achilles tendonitis is the most common. Tendonitis, or inflammation of the tendon, occurs when the tendon becomes irritated due to frequent, repetitive movements. Runners, especially older individuals, are vulnerable to this injury as the Achilles tendon tends to wear down over time. This wear and tear is the result of friction between the tendon and the heel bone, or heel bone, and is felt as pain and tenderness in the heel, symptoms that worsen after activity. Swelling may accompany pain at the site of the injury, and treatment for these symptoms includes the RICE method and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain medications, or NSAIDs.
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