More than a week ago I had an accident which involved an impact to the back of my calf. There was no pain at all at the time, so I thought little of it, but a couple of hours later it swelled up a lot, making walking and standing painful and awkward. (Sitting is no problem at all.)
I followed the advice about using ice; I hadn't heard about taking painkillers regularly to reduce the swelling. When it seemed to be getting worse after five days, I saw the GP, who said it's most likely an injured muscle, and told me to keep trying to walk and stand normally, and to keep taking ibuprofen and paracetamol.
Another five days on, it still seems the same: holding my foot in a normal position for standing and walking is very difficult; its natural position is now at an angle, and it's still swollen, in spite of ice and painkillers. I'm still trying to walk and stand normally, as I was advised. I'm wearing trainers to work because it's the only way to be comfortable.
I haven't had many injuries of this sort before. How long do injuries like this take to go down, and is there a danger of permanent deformation if it's not treated right? I keep wondering if I should have got an X-ray at the time, just in case, although the GP doesn't think there are any broken bones.