How to Ease Calf Muscle Pain
Calf muscle pain can put you out of commission if you hurt it bad enough. Somehow I manage to do it and don't know how, so it must not be hard to do. Many of us have this happen not only with a calf muscle, but with other muscles in the body such as the back and neck.
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When you wake up with calf muscle pain and don't know where you got it it's frustrating. This happened to me just 2 weeks ago and I never did figure it out. I thought back to everything I did, but drew a blank. I've heard other people say this many times over, so I know it's not just me.
I've had so many injuries I automatically go for an ice pack before I do anything else. No matter where the pain is an ice pack always relieves the pain.
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Icing the calf can be difficult due to its location. This is how I do it. I fix an ice pack in a zip lock baggy then place it in a tube sock, which is fairly long. Then flatten it out and wet the sock on one side to make the ice pack cold faster. Next I wrap it around the calf and use a safety pin to hold it together. It works great and eases calf muscle pain.
The ice pack stays on no longer than 10-15 minutes. After the leg warms up then it's time to elevate the calf. To do this lay in the floor with legs up on the bed, the higher the better. Next, massage the calf while it's elevated, since this is the most relaxed position for the calf muscle to be in.
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On the second day as you repeat the sequence add calf stretches to keep the muscles from stiffening. Also, rotate the foot at the ankle while holding the leg. Then take the foot through the process of mimic walking, pressing the foot from heel to toe. During the exercises it's okay to feel discomfort, but not pain, if there's pain back off.
You want to use natural movements to restore full range of motion without calf muscle pain. In addition, by this time heat can be used to relax the calf muscles and regain some flexibility. No fast movement slow and steady wins the race.
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Depending on the severity of calf muscle pain you may want to use an ACE bandage for compression. If the injury is minor (no swelling) I don't use it, but if it's swelling and I need more support I do. Also, an over the counter pain reliever may be needed for a short time.
Don't do anything that causes pain as this could delay recovery. Do your best to keep a balance of rest and exercise, so that you recover, but don't overdo.
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