mac

OMG, OMG, OMG I'm in pain. I just blew out my left calf muscle. I noticed a slight twinge towards the end of April while running, then sometime in May while cycling, then moreso yesterday on my 67 mile ride. Today, I was flexing my calves in the mirror to see the diamonds, then straightened out my left leg. Right then I heard two loud <pop> <pop> and I crumbled to the ground and was about to pass out. I've doing RICE right now, but what's the next step? I read here that calf muscle strains like this can lead to blot clots in the leg. They can then travel to the heart and cause a heart attack!

So what should I do ASAP? Go to the emergency room? Go see my family physician?

Guest

Go to the emergency room. Stop asking non professionals to diagnose what seems to be an emergency situation that's painful.

Koffee

kuan

Are you kidding me you're afraid you're gonna die and you sit here asking us?

mac

Dude, I went to the ER anyways. The ER doc said I tore my Plantaris Tendon, although I would need to get an MRI to be sure. I'm going to see my regular doc and ortho doc tomorrow. Looks like I'll be down and out for at least a month.

I posted this - maybe didn't word it quite right due to the state of mind I was in - because I'm curious if anyone has ever torn his Plantaris tendon before. Wikipedia says it's a vestigial structure and 9% of the population doesn't even have it.

kuan

Sorry to hear that man. I hope you recover well.

Bockman

Yeah, big wet *pop* sounds mean tearing of tendons.

cmcenroe

Well maybe you could do some upper body strength training while you let your legs recover, just something to keep the metabolism up perhaps.

Guest

Look for an arm ergometer machine. You can still do cardio and not lose your aerobic gains and you can also still do a little bit of strength training for the lower body too.

Koffee

sch

I have done this twice by ill advised, though not outre jumping, and I agree it is really painful for awhile and you can't bear to move the foot up and down. I conferred with an orthopod friend who didn't advise much except a lot of ice and time. I walked around for 2-3weeks with the foot rotated out 90d to the outside to avoid any push up or down on the toes and after about three weeks I was able to slowly rotate the foot back towards the front over the next 2 weeks and gingerly push down with the toes by the 6th week with the toes again pointed forward. Going down steps is like you are 3 yrs old again. No splint or wrap was needed, and probably wouldn't have helped much. The ankle, then the foot will puff up a lot over the next few days and then you will get a big bruise in the calf which will drift down into the foot and toes over the next 7-10 days. Muscles take 6-8 weeks to heal. You will be at risk for a repeat performance if you jump off vigorously with the same leg in the future. The second time I did it I thought I had been shot in the leg.

mac

Yeah, Sunday night after my rupture, I bought the Magneciser Pedal Exerciser. Wow... I didn't think anything could be more boring than riding a stationary bike. Now I get to "ride" on with my arms. Oh well, I'll put it on my coffee table and watch TV while I "pedal."

Are you okay now? I hope everything is well. Oh man, I think you tore your Gastronemius (calf) muscle. Luckily (?), I have nowhere near those kinds of symptoms, except for the initial pain. I made an appt with my orthopedic doc on Thursday, but the E.R. doc believes it's my Plantaris Muscle/Tendon. Per the doc, I've been taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3x's a day, icing every few hours, and keeping my whole lower leg wrapped. So far, no swelling, no signs of internal bleeding, and I can put some weight on my toes as long as my leg is not fully extended. The only area of pain is in my left leg on my inner calf where the "diamond tip" forms. That's unlike last Sept when I blew out my left ankle running over a pine cone. My ankle swelled up to double the size with black & blue internal bleeding on both sides. My podiatrist said I ruptured all my ankle tendons. I'm crossing my fingers that my current injury is "only" the Plantaris, which you don't need anyways, and I can be back on my bike by July and running by August. Or at least swimming by mid-June.

mac

Well, I've been going to physical therapy for the past month and a half. This week my therapist instructed me to go on a 15 mile flat ride to see how I feel. I went... in 111*F / 44*C heat. Yes, that's one-hundred eleven degrees! My calf muscle felt okay, but where my plantaris tie into my heel next to my achilles still hurt quite a bit. Oh well, I'll speak with my therapist on Mon and see the ortho doc again in a couple of weeks.

slowandsteady

Um, the next time you are having twinges that get progressively worse over months, take some time off! Ignored minor injuries often become major injuries. I used to be this way, but, I have since learned my lesson. Take a week off now to heal a minor injury, save months of rehab and setbacks later.

smellygary

Lots of us have parts that others don't, and we don't have what they might. And we never know the difference. That's the cool thing about nature.

Are you able to skip going to your regular doctor, and just go to the orthopedist?

Whatever is done for you, make sure you do the PT the way they tell you to. Men tend to overdo it early, then give up too early. And women tend to underdo it early and never progress as much as what they could've.

kuan

That's pretty good. Six weeks!

28105

start swimming with a pull bouy.

smellygary

Are you needling?

smellygary

What I mean to ask is are you going to acupuncture? Western trained anesthesiologists call acupuncture "needling" and use it to relieve pain and inflmmation. And is often covered by insurance. And 28105 has the right idea of swimming.

Yo-

First off I'm sad to see anybody injured. It sets us back big time. I hope you heal fast.

But I had to chuckle. You injured yourself while flexing and admiring your muscles in the mirror.

So when people ask you how you injured yourself, do you tell them you were flexing in the mirror?... or do you say you were in mile 7 of 15 when you popped your calf?

mac

I haven't tried acupuncture, but it sounds interesting.

Well I do say that I was standing still and flexing in the mirror when I tore it, but qualify that with, "the day before I rode 67 miles in 95* heat and had mild dehydration."

I fell out of bed yesterday as I had heat exhaustion from this past weekend and couldn't balance and slightly tweaked my calf again. I'll give it another week before I try riding again. Damn.

Zinn-X

that sucks... its been almost 2 months then. i hope it gets better for you soon!