Calf Problems

Hi I am new to this forum so hello to everyone,

I am a keen footballer (soccer), probably coming to the end of my career (35)however i am still able to offer a lot and want to keep playing.

I have had some trouble with my left calf over the years, with treatment for DVT on two occassions,

However now i have got some acute pains in my calf, not the same pains i had before, i have attahed a picture of a calf (not mine) to indicate the areas i get the pains, the pain varies in poisition but feels like a hot knife is cutting down the back of my calf...

I tried resting it for three weeks then it felt ok ish, so tried to have kick around again and it went immediatly..

Any idea :

A) what the problem is?
B) best treatment for it?

cheers

Andy

anyone? I really am struggling with this

Chimp,

Current assessment - is your calf sore on bent knee or straight knee calf raises, do you have full stretch, any swelling or bruising? are you able to walk?

Treatment starts with obtaining normal gait (pool vs land), manage swelling and acute injury. Once scar tissue is forming then start DL calf raises (remember that is is different timimg for everyone). You need to rehabilitate your calf to return to sport!! otherwise you have not ticked off all the return to sport criteria!!

? did you have you full stretch?
? did you have you have full strength? single leg calf raise off step and single leg hopping
? did you get back to 95% speed before returning?
? did you complete 95% speed?
? did you have 1 full week of training before your game?

KS

Ok firstly thanks for getting back to me....

To answer the following questions....

? did you have you full stretch? -
? did you have you have full strength? single leg calf raise off step and single leg hopping
? did you get back to 95% speed before returning?
? did you complete 95% speed?
? did you have 1 full week of training before your game?

Yes to all!!!

it really did seem fine, but obviously something is not right...

The pain seems to be more centralised to the top of my calf at the moment, whereas when the pain first occurred it was at the lower, down my calf...

the pain is unbeleievable, i am really struggling to walk, although i can... the pain is really bad...

my calf feels solid, and sore to touch

As i am noo physio, all i have been doing for treatment is:

Ice 20 mins at a time
Heat Lamp 20 mins at a time
Ice repeated
then Bath Hot

hi colleague:

may u have to make a differntiation between pain from gastrocnemiues &/or soleus muscles which both of call calf muscle .So dorsiflexion of ankle joint with kneeflexion associated with pain the source of is almost soleus while proplem from gasrtocnemius 'll be through knee extension also with dorsiflexion of ankle joint.

again u have to take care of ur positions in relation to gravity .as u'll be in more comfortable positios at work,home ,...as possible as u can.
In addition to that creb bandage,u know u can do excercises while ur wearing bandage...
hope fast recovery..

Hi Andy,

How is your calf coming along?

I just caught up with this post so hopefully you're well on your way to recovery, but I thought I'd reply anyway...

I think you need to give us a little more info on the injury, for example

1) Did your pain come on in one instant, for example an acute muscle tear, or did it get worse over time with a minor or no initial incident?

2) Which leg is it - the leg you would normally kick with or the leg you would normally balance on when kicking? (yes I know there are some freaks that can kick accurately with both legs, unfortunately not me! )

3) Do you have any knee pain or history of knee problems?

4) You seem to have ruled out DVT because the symptoms are different from the previous episodes, but are you sure? Given you have had it twice before, it is definately worth fully investigating.

You seem to have tested it quite thouroughly before going back to sport so we need to ask why did it come back when you played. Was it straight away (i.e. as soon as you started "kicking around") or after some time playing? i.e. is this problem related to a specific football related skill (kicking, rapidly changing direction, acceleration/decelleration etc) or a physiological demand (e.g. time under load, intensity of game compared to intensity of training etc).

If you're still having problems, then I think these questions have to be answered...

Cheers.
BMC

I think that in light of your history the best way to assess this is to go to a good sports physio in your local area. We can all guess here but to be honest I would not be able to give you and sound answer without first performing a physical examination.

hello',
u r not clear in ur history & symptoms. anyway since u say the area of pain varies everytime it may be a problem of artery i.e 1.intermitent claudication,
2.arteritis.
go check with ur physio again.if it is not a musculoskeletal problem,then consider my above sayings consult with a vascularsurgeon.
first diagnose the problem then its easy to cure it.do reply.