How to Relieve Calf Pain
Sooner or later in everybody's life, they will encounter pain. From athletic activities to constant sickness, there are numerous reasons why it's so regular to live with uneasiness. Yet, sometimes, the pain is so intense that it can make daily routines feel like monumental tasks. Leg injuries prove to be more significant problems as they make essential activities such as getting up from bed difficult.
Leg calf pain can have a wide assortment of causes. Calf pain is a feeling of discomfort in the fat tissue on the backside of the lower leg. It can range from underneath the knee to over the lower leg. Our calves are composed of muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and veins, which would all be possible causes of pain. In this article, we'll cover calf muscle pain causes as well as various calf pain treatments including calf pain exercises and stretches.
What Causes Calf Pain?
Calf pain causes will vary depending on your symptoms, the location of the pain, and any preexisting health conditions.
- Cramps: Calf pain is usually brought about by cramping when the muscles suddenly contract. This may occur if you've been doing new activities or exercises, are dehydrated, or insufficient in certain minerals. Cramps typically disappear rapidly without anyone else.
- Achilles Tendonitis: The tendon becomes inflamed.
- Sciatica: You have problems with the nervus ischiadicus, which controls your lower leg.
- A bruise due to injury.
- Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: You have nerve damage that affects your feet, legs, arms, and hand.
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): When a grume forms within the deep veins of the arm or leg. This is often a medical emergency. Immediately consult a doctor or a physical therapist.
- Calf Strain: The calf is formed from 2 muscles called the gastrocnemius and, therefore, the soleus. They meet at the Achilles ligament, which is appended to the heel bone. Overstretching or tearing both of those two lower leg muscles is perceived as a calf strain. Usually, there's a sudden pain within the calf, and you'll feel a pop, snap or tear. A calf strain can also mean you experience the subsequent symptoms:
- Sudden pain in the back of the leg.
- The calf is stiff and weak once you walk.
- You find it hard to get up onto your toes.
- You may have a bruise on your calf after 1 or 2 days.
Ways To Relieve Calf Pain And Improve the Healing Process
How to Get Rid of Calf Pain
If you're in need of calf muscle pain treatment, use the following steps:
- Stop the activity that's causing pain and rest your leg.
- Apply hot and cold therapy on your calf for 15 to 20 minutes, several times each day. This may help reduce inflammation and swelling.
- Elevate your leg above your heart level (over the back of the couch, for example) once you're resting.
- Wear a bandage or KT tape for calf pain. Kinesiology tape offers support for calf muscle pain relief while improving blood flow.
- Massage your calf gently to get heat and relax the muscles and other soft tissues. Apply moist heat or soak during a warm bath.
- Drink lots of water to remain hydrated. This may help prevent muscle cramps. At least 8-9 glasses of water per day.
- Use a TENS unit for calf pain. While they won't aid in the healing process, a TENS unit can relieve any pain. For TENS unit electrode placement for calf pain, resort to our TENS unit guide.
- Suppose you've got a severe muscle, tendon, or ligament tear. In that case, you'll need surgery to repair the damage, followed by physical therapy sessions.
Calf Stretches and Exercises
Calf pain when walking can cause serious problems to one's mobility and overall quality of life. Stretches for calf pain can help speed up the recovery process.
Standing Calf Stretches
Put your hands on a seat or palms against a wall, about a careful distance away. Hold one leg back, with your forward leg marginally twisted. The two feet are level on the floor. Gradually bend your forward knee and elbows, moving your hips towards the seat/wall until you feel a stretch in the back calf. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat a couple of times with every leg.
Baby (Small) Steps
- Make a stride gradually—one step should require a moment.
- Start from a marginally stunning position.
- Slowly, lift your back foot off the ground simultaneously instead of pushing off with your toes as you regularly would.
- Just raise it 2 to 3 inches.
- Gradually present it and spot it delicately close to your other foot.
- Repeat with the other foot.
- Repeat a couple of times on each side, a couple of times each day if conceivable.
Continuously stretch when you exercise to fix and strengthen the calf. Don't over-exercise, and cautiously move if you are beginning something new. Drink a lot of water to stay away from cramps. Magnesium supplements have been shown to forestall cramps in specific individuals, particularly pregnant ladies. If you get more pain in your legs, consult your doctor or seek help from the nearest physical therapy clinic for calf pain relief.
Additional Pain Relief REsources
About the Author
Samantha does not have a personal blog but writes on healthcare industry since a decade for now. She is excellent at conveying thoughts and tips through story telling.
About Carex Health Brands
Carex is your one-stop shop for home medical equipment and for products that assist caregivers with providing the best possible support and care for their loved ones. Carex Health Brands has been the branded leader in in-home, self-care medical products for over 35 years. Our goal is to improve the lives of our customers by bring them quality products that bring dignity back to their lives. With our three nationally distributed brands, Carex Health Brands serves national, regional and independent food, drug and mass retailers along with wholesalers, distributors and medical dealers.
related posts
14 Days of Bite Size Caregiver Tips
Caregiving is by far one of the most challenging roles to be in. It's filled with hectic schedules, periods of adjustment, feelings of overwhelm, and so much more. And while guides to help, they can induce feelings of information overload. With this in mind, we've created our email series "14 Days of Bite-Size Caregiver Tips." You'll receive 14 daily emails with an actionable tip you can use to make your role more manageable. Each tip has no "fluff" and can be implemented the same day.
65 Aging in Place Products: A Comprehensive List
The right product can make aging in place much more manageable. This article covers 65 of the best types of products to make aging in place easier.
How to Alternate Hot and Cold Therapy
If you are combatting an injury and looking for treatment options, temperature therapy is likely on your radar. However, many newbies to these therapy options are unsure of what to do. Excessive heat or cold can slow the healing process!There is a low-cost, low-risk treatment for pain relief that you can do at home. Contrast therapy centers around the idea of using both heat and cold on an injury to treat pain – in an alternation. Please reference this guide on how to alternate hot and cold therapy for an injury to ensure your success.
How to Sleep with Hip Pain at Night
Is hip pain disturbing your sleep? Learn everything you need to know to alleviate hip pain, prevent it from coming back, and sleep better.
VEry very informative