Sore Calf Muscles

What happens when you stretch yourself to the maximum limit? You get tired, fatigued and all you want to do is rest and sleep straight for 12 hours. Similarly, when we overwork our muscles too hard, they feel resentful towards us and we end up with sore muscles. Same is true in case of calf muscles. When they are overworked, they tend to get tired and ultimately we suffer from sore muscles and pain. Sore calf muscle is a very common phenomenon and is usually experienced by all those who workout regularly. However, this is not the only reason for sore calves. There are several reasons and the ways to treat the sore calf muscle, are also plenty. Keep reading to know the various details.

Symptoms
There are certain symptoms which, if you experience, will be able to indicate to you that you are about to be out of commission for a couple of days and will suffer from muscle pain. These symptoms are quite common and include tenderness in the calves, swelling in the calves, pain in the calves, calf muscle tightness and a feeling of loss of strength in the calves. You might also experience calf cramps at night. Whenever you start feeling these symptoms, you should immediately stop your exercises or running or whatever it is you are doing which is exerting your calves in order to avoid suffering from severe pain.

Most of the people who run regularly experience calf muscle pain while running. When you run, the muscles in your calves are worked more than the other muscles. Hence, they become sore. In some cases, you will find that your calf muscles have become sore immediately after you come home from your run. In other cases, you will find that the muscles become sore, the next day or within the next 48 hours. This soreness is known as the delayed onset muscle soreness - DOMS. This is not something that you need to worry yourself over. This is a common occurrence which does not affect your health in any way. All you need to do is give yourself some time to rest the muscles and you should be fine within a day. However, what you do need to ensure is that you should not overwork your muscles the next time, if you want to avoid this inconvenience.

All pregnant women experience calf muscle pain. Experts believe that the reason could be the increase in the weight of the woman which creates additional pressure on the legs leading to sore calves and leg cramps. Another school of thought also states that the womb creates pressure on the blood vessels that carry the blood from the heart to the legs and vice versa. This causes fluctuations in the blood circulation and leads to soreness and cramps. Whatever the reason for sore leg muscles, such conditions are very irritating and painful for the woman and hence, she should take care to ensure that she finds immediate relief from the pain. There are certain things that she should follow and these are listed below.

• It is advised that the woman should take a small walk, unless asked not to by the doctor.
• It is recommended that the woman should not stand for long periods of time.
• The woman should also not cross her legs and sit for a long time.
• If there is a lot of soreness, then dipping the legs in a bucket full of warm water should help relieve the soreness.
• Dehydration may also cause soreness in the muscles. To avoid it, it is advisable that the woman drinks plenty of water throughout the day.

Treatment
When you suffer from soreness in the calf muscles or swollen calf muscles, you can get relief from the following treatments. These are listed below.

• Taking adequate rest and avoiding over straining the muscles is the first treatment that is advised.
• Drinking plenty of water is next in the list. Sometimes, you must have noticed that you experience sore calf muscles for no reason. This could be because you are not drinking enough water. This makes drinking enough water an effective sore muscle remedy.
• If rest doesn't work or if there is severe soreness, then apply some ice or heat or alternate between heat and ice therapy. This should help you feel relieved.
• There are plenty of stretching exercises that you can perform at home. These exercises will definitely help you.
• We all know that compressions work when we suffer from sprains. If the soreness persists the next day too, then you could try using the crepe bandage on the calf and keeping the calf elevated. Elevation will increase the blood circulation and it will help reduce the soreness.
• In severe cases, if all other treatments fail, then medications may become necessary. However, do not take any over the counter pain killers. It is better to consult a doctor.

In addition to the above causes, deep vein thrombosis, hormonal imbalances, Charley horse in calf and compartment syndrome are the more severe conditions that lead to sore calf muscles. If the soreness lasts for a day or two or when the soreness is experienced immediately after exercising, then there may not be a reason to worry. Stretching the calf muscles and some rest should help you. However, if the soreness persists for a considerable time or if you experience the soreness more often, then it is better to get the diagnoses done by the doctor. This will help you identify any problems that you may have, at an early stage and immediate medications will prevent increasing the problem from becoming grave. Take care.