Unfortunately, the main causes of rectus femoris strain are fairly common. Paralysis generally . Its important to describe in detail how you got the injury and how your calf felt immediately after the injury. Complications of muscle injuries. Oluseun Olufade, MD, is a board-certified orthopedist. When to seek help Urgent advice: On the other hand, you might have to wear a brand-new pair a few times before they feel comfortable. The location and intensity of your pain can help determine the extent and nature of the damage. A surgeon makes an incision in your calf and reattaches the two ends of your muscle with stitches. By initially resting the muscle, the amount of spasm and scarring can be minimized. A physical therapist can help you to maximize stability and strength of the injured joint or limb. Make a donation. Difficulty in moving the affected limb. Hip Flexor Injury Symptoms. Other conditions can be confused with a groin pull, and they may need different treatments. Earn 16 Rewards Points. Find out about psoriatic arthritis. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. rest, ice, compression, and; elevation. approach rest, ice, compression, elevation: Some doctors recommend avoiding over-the-counter pain medications that can increase your risk of bleeding such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve) during the first 48 hours after a muscle strain. This one of the reasons why a few simple stretches of your quadriceps are good ways to prepare them for a round of golf. 2013 Dec;18(3):10712. How exactly were you moving when the injury occurred? Chronic strains are overuse injuries from repetitive motions. https://www.nata.org/, American Physical Therapy Association Accessed April 27, 2018. Headaches. Make a donation. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Muscle strains are very common. Allow your opposite leg to extend behind you.. This usually occurs as a result of fatigue, overuse, or improper. A burning/stabbing sensation. These injuries can range from a mild muscle pull to a complete tear. Compression is especially important to try to minimize swelling and bleeding into the muscle. Pulled calf muscles may be chronic from long-term injury or acute from brief overpulling. Muscles strains are caused by tears in the fibers of your muscles. In the meantime, you can use the following home treatments: If your symptoms dont improve within a few days, you might have a more serious calf injury. 2. Refusal to put any weight on one or more limbs. Coming to a Cleveland Clinic location?Hillcrest Cancer Center check-in changesCole Eye entrance closingVisitation, mask requirements and COVID-19 information, Notice of Intelligent Business Solutions data eventLearn more. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/sprains-and-strains/advanced. Muscle strains are common, painful injuries. Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 06/03/2021. INGREDIENTS. A torn calf muscle may require surgery. Suffers will also experience a mild decrease in strength with the affected muscle. You will also be asked to bend or flex your muscles to help show the doctor where the pain is emanating from and what kind of resistance makes it hurt. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2018. https://www.clinicalkey.com. A similar injurya sprainaffects ligaments, which hold bones to other bones at a joint. Strains are what happens when some of the thousands of fibers in your muscles are pulled beyond their limit and tear. As a group, they are known as the hamstring group of muscle. In: Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/, National Athletic Trainers' Association swelling in the affected leg. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Acute strains can be caused by one event, such as using poor body mechanics to lift something heavy. It also outlines some simple stretches that can help prevent groin injury. Keeping your leg elevated above your head as much as possible for the first day after a pull and applying ice packs to the calf four times a day for about 20 minutes at a time should help relieve the pain and help the effected muscle fibers begin repairing themselves. Your outstretched leg should have a straight knee, and you should feel the stretch on the inner thigh. Pulled hip muscles usually feel like an intense burning or aching sensation, which can become worse with movement. Muscle fatigue or weakness from overuse or underuse. What happens when your immune system attacks your joints? There are three basic muscles that make up the hamstring in the back of the thigh. The adductor muscles pull the legs together. Strains are classified with three grades to indicate how severe they are. Tingling. Sprains, Strains, and Other Soft Tissue Injuries. Research shows that up to 10% of people with symptoms of calf pulls actually have DVT, which can be a life-threatening condition. Try to be in shape to play your sport; don't play your sport to get in shape. People most likely to have pulled or strained hamstrings are sprinters, football players and other athletes in high-speed sports. Strains are injuries to muscles or tendons (tissues that attach muscles to bones). Strains can develop slowly over time or happen very suddenly. Most of the time, these strains involve small tears to the muscles and can usually be treated with rest, gentle stretching, and over-the-counter pain medications. Make sure to tell them what you were doing when you first noticed your symptoms. Muscle strain injuries are graded by severity: 1. Comprehensive approach to the evaluation of groin pain. Participating in contact sports such as soccer, football, hockey, boxing and wrestling can increase your risk of muscle strains. You may think you pulled a muscle during a physical activity, but if you experience these other symptoms at the same time, make an appointment to see a doctor: Bruising Swelling Signs of infection, like itchiness and red, raised skin. 2nd ed. The hamstring and quadriceps muscle groups are particularly at risk for muscle strains because they cross both the hip and knee joints. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Saunders; 2012. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Swelling that wont go away or is getting worse. On rare occasions, severe strains can tear the muscle in two. Use this list to select a high quality, effective wrist brace that matches your needs. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. The names of the muscles are adductor brevis, adductor magnus, adductor longus, pectineus, and gracilis. Swelling. Theyre called the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. The lump forms in the area in which the tumor is growing, and it may be accompanied by some pain if it's pressing on a nerve or muscle. Hip Strains. The outlook for muscle strains is positive. Last updated on Oct 10, 2022. The adductor muscles pull the legs together. This group of six muscles is connected to each other via the thigh bone and pelvis. Always consult a medical provider for diagnosis and treatment. However, if the diagnosis is in doubt, X-rays or a magnetic resonance imaging scan may be necessary. A pulled calf muscle happens when you overstretch the muscles in the back of your lower leg. A strain of the thigh/hip is a stretching or tearing of a muscle and is commonly referred to as a "pulled muscle.". 1. In more severe injuries, where the muscle or tendon has been completely ruptured, your doctor may be able to see or feel a defect in the area of injury. People use the terms interchangeably. Your doctor may suggest that you immobilize the area with a brace or splint. A strain is an acute or chronic soft tissue injury that occurs to a muscle, tendon, or both. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Anyone can experience a hip strain just doing everyday tasks, but strains most often . A hip flexor strain occurs when one or more of the hip flexor muscles becomes stretched or torn. But your muscle needs to heal, and giving it that time is the best way to make sure youll be able to get back to what you love as soon as its safe. We avoid using tertiary references. A groin pullcan be quite painful, interfering with your ability to walk, navigate stairs, or even drive a car. Your favorite pair of jeans have plenty of flexibility to them because youve stretched them out over years. If the results of your exam point to Grade I or II muscle strain, you probably will not need any additional testing. Groin pulls are often experienced by athletes who play ice hockey and soccer because they have to rapidly change directions, often with their legs in a splayed position. Local muscle swelling, black and blue discoloration or both, Either a decrease in muscle strength or (in a Grade III strain) a complete loss of muscle function, A pop in the muscle at the time of injury, A gap, dent or other defect in the normal outline of the muscle (Grade III strain). Its a common injury with athletes that do a lot of stop-and-go movements, but it can also affect older, active individuals. A rubber donut may be used to decrease the pain of sitting on a swollen buttock. This occurs when your calf muscle protrudes underneath your skin, creating a visible bump. Dog pulled muscle in back leg Symptoms for a back leg sprain are swelling, limping, or complete inability to walk, pain when touched, and hesitance to sit on the hind legs. 10 Things to Know About Psoriatic Arthritis. Hear from real doctors who treat orthopedic conditions and perform surgery. They're more common after surgery and among people on bed rest or those who sit for long periods without stretching. the affected area feeling warm to the touch. Soleus pain causes are often linked to certain activities, but there is one cause that you could say is due to inactivity. 2016 Sept/Oct;15(5):320-324. If the pain is significant, you may be advised to use crutches to reduce pain and prevent further injury. You can treat most muscle strains with at-home methods of first aid, including: Its rare to need surgery for a muscle strain. Stretch your knees down toward the ground. DOI: Parker G, et al. 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