Introduction
A pulled calf causes a painful swelling in the calf, which is associated with muscle hardening. The pulled calf is caused by overstretching the muscle. If the calf is pulled, the muscles are stretched beyond their limits.
The individual muscle fibers remain intact when a muscle is pulled, but the smallest units of a muscle, known as sarcomeres, are affected. The defect is caused by the muscle spindles, which occur in every muscle. Muscle spindles measure the length of a muscle and can regulate it in coordination with the central nervous system.
If a rapid change in load or overexertion occurs during sport, the muscle spindles cannot react quickly enough to keep up with the muscle stretching. They then send signals to the central nervous system, which in turn sends out a signal that ensures that the muscle contracts as quickly as possible to prevent muscle injury. As a result, the muscle is painfully hardened.
The pulled muscle causes an inflammation, which causes the pain that accompanies a pulled muscle. The calf strain has to be distinguished diagnostically from a torn muscle fiber or a torn muscle where the muscle is massively damaged. The pulled muscle, together with the torn muscle fibre and torn muscle, is a closed muscle injury, as the skin or tissue remains uninjured. There is also no external trauma, such as a blow or kick. Often the muscle strain is not visible from the outside either.
Symptoms
Characteristically, a calf strain manifests itself by a painful pulling in the calf with accompanying hardening of the muscle. The pain often increases continuously: at the beginning, there is usually only a slight pulling, which then develops into severe pain, until at some point a real muscle cramp can develop. The pain occurs immediately after the muscle is overstrained, both at rest and under strain.
Compared to a torn muscle fibre or a torn muscle, the pain is less severe when pulled and there is usually no loss of muscle strength. In the beginning, the mobility of the leg is hardly restricted at all, but then it also becomes more and more restricted, so that at some point the leg can hardly be moved. This process makes it easy to distinguish between a pulled muscle and a torn muscle fiber, since in the latter the pain occurs suddenly after the movement that causes it.
This pain is often accompanied by a swelling of the affected area. Rarely does a calf strain result in bruising; this is more often the case with a torn muscle fibre or torn muscle. On the one hand, a pulled calf is often caused by overloading the affected muscle.
This often happens when running uphill or on uneven terrain. Unnatural movements can also lead to muscle strain. Typical situations in which a calf strain occurs are Folding over on an uneven path, slipping on stairs or hasty movements during sports.
Consequently, an overload does not always have to be the trigger for calf strain, because jerky and fast movements can also lead to overstretching of the muscle. For example, when suddenly accelerating or stopping a movement, this is especially the case in ball sports. Often the muscles have not been warmed up enough or the muscle is already tired, so that a muscle strain can occur more easily.
Especially in cold temperatures, you should pay attention to a sufficient warm-up program. In summer, when it is very warm, there is also an increased risk of pulled muscles because more fluid and electrolytes are withdrawn from the body. Therefore, especially in summer, you should make sure that you drink enough.
In general, the more untrained the muscle is, the more susceptible it is to overstretching. If you feel a pull in the lower or upper thigh muscles during a strong or fast movement, the training should be stopped. The calf strain, together with the thigh strain, is one of the most common types of muscle strain.
