Calf tear

[Fliegenmong]

Hi All

Up to Christmas i was killing it in the health and fitness department.....well I was getting there anyway....

I was doing up to 10 hours a week, hard boxing / fitness - fusion type classes etc. And then, perhaps not properly warmed up, launching in to a sprint 'Pop', and incredible pain right calf muscle....resultant ultrasound revealed a
1.3cm x .5cm tear to the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle at it' s myotendunus junction. :\

Took me about 10 days to walk without a bad limp......recovery is supposedly 4/8 weeks, likely around 6 weeks, which would take me through to end of March., and most of all my hard fought Cardio Fitness will surely have gone to waste....:{ I understand it is an injury that easily reoccurs if not allowed to heal fully.....would physiotherapist be useful? Can they do anything anyway, if you're waiting for muscle to heal...?

Should I have seen one sooner?

Very frustrating!

[Evanelpus]

For the love of God, WHY?

Exercise kills, you've only got to look at the faces of the many joggers who pass our house to see it's not fun. I've thought of putting up a refreshments table in the front garden to provide fluids (at a price) to said joggers.

OP - Once you are fit and well, lay off the exercise!

[AngioJet]

Although painful and annoying, the calf tear should still allow you to do other things like swimming and arm bicycling.

Physio should definitely be helpful so get in touch with one asap. They'd be able to advise you on exactly which type of exercise you could do in the meantime to maintain your fitness.

Good luck!

[gingernut]

OUCH-the "pop" says it all !

I'd agree with everything below, keep up the aerobic stuff ! But not anything involving legs :-)

[Capetonian]

Almost everyone I know who is a 'fitness' fanatic does themselves serious damage at some point. I have known two people who - literally - killed themselves by pushint themselves too hard in exercise regimes. Our bodies are designed with certain limitations beyond which we should not keep pushing them.

Walking to the pub and lifting a pint of beer would seem to be a reasonable limit on a daily basis.

[Radgirl]

The comments about exercise being harmful would have had my full support until recently. I recall a jogger who ran into a chain fence one early morning, bursting his spleen and causing his demise......Indeed much of the rubbish about its benefits comes from some dubious work in the US which was never questioned.

However, recently there has been some interesting research which shows that regular exercise can reduce the amount of fat in your blood and reduce diabetes. It also increases muscle mass which has been suggested may reduce the risk of death within three months of major surgery such as operations for bowel cancer or fractured hips. We also know that progressive exercise after heart attacks increases life expectancy.

I wouldnt start to suggest this is proof that exercise will make you live longer if you are otherwise well, but these isolated findings and associations are starting to come together to make a resounding case for regular safe exercise.

[Capetonian]

Regular exercise is one thing. Being a fitness fanatic and constantly trying to push the body harder and harder is something very different, which is why I used the term 'fitness fanatic' in my earlier posting. I'm talking about who get up at 4 in the morning, do two hours gym, eat 6 raw eggs, run to work go to the gym for another session at lunchtime and again after work, force their to life more and more weight, and so in. That maims, or kills, eventually.

[Radgirl]

Totally agree with that. My mother gave me raw eggs as a child and I have never eaten one since. Perhaps she did me a favour

[gingernut]

You're born with so many breathes, why waste them on exercise ?

All joking apart, back in the day, me and my surfing buddy used to spend a few hours chasing waves (very badly), chill on the soft sands of Fistral (prior Parking Eye), and one day it clicked....all our "bread and butter" patients with joint pain, sleep disorders, low mood, anxiety, obesity, diabetes, hypertension blah blah......could all be cured with one simple item-a surf board.

Great to see that years later, Cornwall PCT and a couple of "Help the Heroes" charities, seemed to have took up our advice !

[redsnail]

Fleigs, go and see a physio. You may not necessarily recover faster but they should be able to give you tips and tricks about prevention. They'll also be able to advise what exercises you can do to keep some level of fitness. :ok:

[VH-MLE]

Hi Fliegenmong,

I did exactly the same thing myself a bit over a week ago (was about to take on my son in a short sprint) and felt the same "pop" followed by intense pain.

I had an ultrasound yesterday which revealed a 2cm tear and a fluid build up - Dr advises around 6-8 weeks to recover.

I've never had anything like that happen before and it was a salient reminder that I'm no longer 17 or 18 - not by a long shot...

Good luck with your recovery!

ps I'm going to follow Dr Gingernut's advice and not waste my allocated breaths on exercise - except walking the dog and playing golf (very badly)...

[Capetonian]

If I had followed my own advice, I would not now be lying in bed with a badly bruised leg, broken wrist, arm in plaster from hand to biceps, and in a lot pain, and with the prospect of having to cancel my forthcoming rail trip across via Holland and Germany to Poland. Bummer.

I was walking back through the forest yesterday after a dentist appointment and due to extremely heavy rain, the path I normally take is a raging torrent. I had to walk along the elevated bank and slipped on the wet muddy rocks and lost my balance, fell into the raging river, got soaked in icy water from head to foot, and landed on my right arm cutting my hand and wrist and spraining the wrist badly so I can barely move my fingers and can't use the hand even to lift a cup of tea or to type. I had to climb back up to the the road and must have looked like a tramp, with soaking muddy clothes, wet hair, and blood pouring off my hand!

The relevance of the dentist bit is that I had an anaesthetic for treatment of an upper tooth and I am sure that affected my ear and thus my balance as I am normally very sure-footed.

Pain and swelling got dramatically worse during the afternoon, went to doctor, referred for x-rays, and that's it.

Now looking for an orthopaedic surgeon SASPO if anyone knows one who may be able to get me an appointment next week in Surrey or even further afield. Quite happy, in fact would prefer, to go private rather than wait for NHS, for which I possibly don't qualify anyway as my surname is not Al-Ahmani or Ogebugo.

[gingernut]

ps I'm going to follow Dr Gingernut's advice and not waste my allocated breaths on exercise - except walking the dog and playing golf (very badly)... :D

Nurse Gingernut svp:)