Kowloon RFC

http://www.sp.hk

There you are running along, playing the game, minding your own business and BANG... Some cretin kicks you, hard, in the back of the leg…the only problem is, there isn’t anyone within yards of you and now you can’t walk.

This is one of the ways many people first realise that they have a calf strain. Other symptoms include, a tearing sensation, pain on walking or running, especially when
pushing off with the toes, pain when stretching and tenderness and or bruising in the calf.

Calf strains can be caused by:

• sudden load on the muscles when they are not ready
• overusing the muscles without proper rest
• a blow to the muscles

You increase the risk of a calf strain when you:

• are tired
• have tight calf muscles, also if your hamstrings are tight
• the weather is cold
• you are stiff or tight in the low back (common cause, especially of repeat injuries, often occurring in mid competition when you are already well warmed up)

We grade muscle injuries according to severity:

Grade 1:
Stretching with some microtearing of muscle fibres (less than 5% of the muscle is damaged).
Usually back to sport within 2-3 weeks.

Grade 2:
Partial tearing of muscle fibres.
Recovery will take at least 4 weeks and can be as much as 8 weeks.

Grade 3
Complete tearing (rupture) of the muscle.
Recovery can take more than 3 months
Surgery may be needed to repair the torn muscle fibres


Treatment Required

• Immediately R.I.C.E. - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.
• Keep applying ice for the next 48 to 72 hours (maximum 20 minutes every 2 hours). This reduces bleeding and damage in the muscle.
• Never apply ice directly to the skin – use a cloth under the ice pack and check the skin regularly – you don’t need an ice burn as well.
• The leg should be elevated as much as possible.
• Use a compression bandage / tubigrip.
• Heat, alcohol, running, and massage may increase swelling and bleeding and should be avoided for at least the first 48 hours. (The slope up Lan Kwai Fong might be a bit of a struggle, put your feet up and have a glass of milk instead).
• Gentle movement, as much as possible without pain, gradually increasing the range is the first stage of recovery. When you can walk with little or no pain, progress to resisted exercises beginning with light weights or elastic. The main exercise is to press down or away with the toes. The trick here is to use enough force to stimulate the muscles and help your recovery but not so much that you do further damage.
• More severe strains will require treatment by a physiotherapist.
• As the range of movement improves you can begin pain-free functional exercise, including strength, endurance and sport specific drills.
• Return to sport when there is no tenderness and no pain on full speed running.



This article is written by sportsperformance. For more information of this allied health centre, please visit www.sp.hk