Any physios/anyone else with experience in calf muscle strain?

[drowninginlaundry]

I am sitting here with an ice pack on my calf, it went today when I was running in the sea after DS1. What should I do? I cannot, CANNOT get injured now, I am going on a kitesurfing holiday in two weeks . Does anyone have any info on rehabilitation, should I go see a physio or a doctor?

Do you mean a muscle tear?

I used to run a lot and tore a calf muscle on my first run after I tripped over something. I became sore at around 2K, but stupidly continued to run. I was forced to stop with a sharp pain that must have been tearing. I went to a locum doctor who said wait for 2 weeks before running. This was not good advice as I had a high level tear and would have needed massaging of the muscle to prevent it repairing smoothly and then being vulnerable to more tearing.

I went for a run after 2 weeks and it tore much worse. Then went to physio and got massage. My physio was not so beneficial as I believe it was needed earlier. The one thing which was amazing was when they put an acupuncture needle into muscle and transmitted some electricity through it. It gave such relief.

Contact a running/sports club and ask if they use a doctor/good physio with expertize in sports injuries.

I don't know what grade it is, I had a sharp pain in the muscle and immediately knew something had gone wrong. Lots of cramping, tightness and it's sore to touch. How long until your injury healed completely?

Dh did that when skiing on ice and his leg was put in plaster for four days then crutches for at least another week.
He was advised to rest the leg completely until he felt comfortable putting weight on it. He saw our gp when we got home who referred him to a physio locally who treated and gave dh exercises to do.
Sorry can't remember total time until back to normal but for him it was at least two weeks.
For now I would rest elevate ice etc and take anti inflammatory pain relief. Expect lots of wierd bruising and fingers crossed it's a mild tear which it probably is if you managed to continue across the sand and ?drive home.
If you contact your gp your insurance for your holiday may be affected badly.
Hope it heals quickly.

You're in a tight time frame. I took at least a couple of months until I could do much with it again (exercise wise). I could do everyday life normally, but would get twinges if I ran and was scared of it tearing again. Even then I first jogged lightly on a trampoline and couldn't risk much speed. I don't know how useful physio will be if you have only two weeks. Baby has a good point re insurance. The doctor I went to at first told me simply to rest the leg.

I am not in any way qualified to give you advice. Would it be any worse to rest and then hope you can do something with it in two weeks? Does kite surfing involve weight bearing at awkward angles?

thank you both for your replies. I am supposed to spend two weeks on a pro coaching trip with hours of full on kitesurfing every day, lots of jumps, rotations, crash landings

I'm doing the RICE protocol, will call a physio tomorrow. Thanks again for writing.

Hi OP
I'm a physio. I'd recommend RICE initially as you're doing and agree with your plan to get a physio assessment. It depends on the extent of the injury but can take 6-8 weeks for a bad muscle tear to heal. hope it improves quickly