Pulled Calf Muscle: What Does a Pulled Muscle Feel Like?
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Pulled Muscle
Especially for those who are physically active or have recently discovered sports, pulled muscle symptoms can become a regular companion. Muscles and ligaments are important to maintain the stability and movement of our joints. When you are exercising without stretching first, go over your limits, trip, and fall or violently move your body, you may experience a pulled muscle.
What Does a Pulled Muscle Feel Like? “Symptoms”
Symptoms can be very unpleasant, but the good news is that the injury is able to heal with the proper care. Especially those who engage in physical activity that involves jumping, running and using your hands (such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer etc), muscles can easily be pulled with just one wrong move.
People who have a passion for winter sports are also often suffering from muscle pain, especially when they fall, slip or try to hold on to something that may injure their fingers. In fact, you can pull virtually any muscle – from tiny ones in your finger to large ones in your back and legs. So if you have a little accident, you may experience the following pulled muscle symptoms.
The first thing is certain pain which is located exactly where the muscle has been pulled. Often you will experience a swelling and sometimes you will even hear a noise which indicates a ligament rupture on top of that. The injured part of your body can also turn blue and sometimes you may feel paralyzed or the pain is so strong that you cannot properly use the joint or muscle. Depending on the intensity, pulled muscle symptoms can vary, and unfortunately, a pulled muscle is often accompanied by an injury to the ligaments or even bones.
Once something like that happens, it is time to provide first aid. The most obvious and important thing to do is cooling for at least 15-20minutes. You can use ice packs or towels soaked in cold water. Cooling the swelling is necessary because the blood vessels tighten up and the internal bleeding is reduced. The ice should not be directly placed on the skin as this will cause more pain.
If possible, the injured part should be elevated which also reduced the blood flow. However, the pain is sometimes simply too intense to do that. The injured person should not have to elevate the affected body part if it causes extreme pain.
Even if the pain is fading or even gone, do not involve in any physical activity. It is not easy to ‘feel’ the difference between a pulled muscle, a ligament rupture or a broken bone. Before you do anything, let a doctor diagnose it.
You must tell the doctor exactly how it happened and describe the symptoms. They will then touch and test you to determine how bad the situation really is. If this examination is possible, you have probably only pulled your muscle. If it is not possible due to extreme pain, it is probably something more serious and has to be x-rayed.
Pulled muscle symptoms are usually gone within 2 weeks. You can usually use the muscle during the healing process, but the physical activity or sports should be avoided under all circumstances. Sports may cause the injury to become worse! This issue is usually fixed with bandage, painkillers, and physiotherapy. If the injury is more severe and especially when bones are involved, you may have to undergo surgery.
The main thing is to rest, commence movements gradually and slowly, and to learn from the experience- don’t do sports without a proper warm-up and stretching. Accidents can certainly happen, but proper preparation is the best preventive manner.
What To Do For a Pulled Calf Muscle?
A pulled calf muscle is not an uncommon injury, especially for athletes and people that are active. Often, if the injury isn’t very bad, surgery isn’t needed and it can be treated at home. Although any time that you have an injury you should consult with your doctor to determine how to severe the injury is, if your doctor recommends home treatment there are several ways you can treat a pulled calf muscle.
Reduce the Swelling
With a pulled calf muscle one of the first symptoms will be pain from swelling. To reduce the swelling and help to ease some of the pain, you will have to elevate the leg. The proper way to elevate the leg is to ensure that it is from the heart; the leg should remain elevated for the first twenty-four hours after an injury. Although you do not have to keep the leg elevated longer than the first day, you can expect the swelling to last for about two weeks.
Compressing the Injury
If you have a pulled calf muscle, it is necessary to compress the injury by applying a compression bandage. What this does is a help to keep the blood from congregating in the foot and the bottom of the leg. Without the compression the foot may swell, causing more complications, as well as pain.
When using a compression bandage you will have to make sure that it is not wrapped too tightly so that the blood circulation isn’t totally cut off. It is also important to use the proper procedure when wrapping the leg; always wrap from the bottom upward toward the leg and not the other way, as this will cause blood swelling in the foot.
Anti-Inflammatory Medication
An anti-inflammatory medication will help to reduce the swelling of the tissue in the leg, plus it will reduce pain. Ask your doctor about the best medication to take for your pulled calf muscle injury. Although the medication may take the pain away and help you to feel better, it is still not a good idea to return to normal activity until the muscle is completely healed.
Use a Heel Pad
If you have a leg injury or pulled calf muscle you may want to think about using a heel pad; this will help to reduce the strain on the leg. If you do decide to wear heel pads you will need to use one on both sides so that you retain your balance and avoid harming your back.
Use Ice on Your Injury
When you have a pulled calf muscle you will want to use an ice pack at least 4 times per day on the injury. Do not apply the ice pack directly to the skin; wrap it in a towel or other cloth. Ice will help to reduce swelling and avoid the injury becoming worse, plus it helps to relieve pain.
Get Plenty of Rest
One of the most effective methods of treating a pulled calf muscle is getting plenty of rest and not overuses the leg muscle while it is healing. If possible try and use crutches or some other walking aid to help keep the weight off of your injured leg for a few days, and you should not do any running, jumping, or activities of that nature until the tenderness in the muscle is completely gone.
These methods of treating a pulled calf muscle should get you feeling better within a week or two, but if your pain increases or you find it becoming more difficult to walk on your leg, you will want to make an appointment with your healthcare worker so that they can evaluate your situation and ensure that your injury does not need surgical intervention.
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