While running the other week I experienced an intense pain in mu upper outside calf. It remained quite sore that day but was mostly OK the next. I laid off running, there was no pain biking, even hitting hills fairly hard. I have run several times since with no pain. Yesterday, while doing s slow run it happened again, much less pain, same gereral area. Today itis sore, but only when I get on my toes. OK on the bike.
So what do you folks think, strain, tear? I will lay off it and massage it, ice rest etc.
one hurts a lot more? one amateur’s opinion - if it was a tear, you wouldn’t be able to recover from it very quickly. my guess would be a strain, maybe a partial tear, but what do I know? Rest (R.I.C.E.)
A Pull = Strain = an abnormal lengthening of a muscle outside it’s normal range of motion
A Sprain = Tear = Actual muscle (or ligament or tendon) disruption (either partial or full, but torn none the less)
Obviously, one heals faster than another. Treatment depends upon what muscle is injured, but generally requires REST
Sorry rroof, but you are confusing your terms. This is a very common mistake.
Strain = stretch, tear or rip in the muscle or adjacent tissues such as fascia or tendon (aka pull or tear). Strains are graded by severity: Grade 1 is the least severe and usually represents microtears in the muscle/tendon fibers. This is characterized by pain w/ activity and decreased range of motion (ROM), but usually no bruising or obvious muscle deformity; the opposite end of the spectrum is Grade 3 which represents complete rupture of the muscle (OUCH, think Dan Marino and Achilles rupture), obvious loss of function and ROM, mega-bruising, tons 'o pain.
Sprain = injury to a ligament. A ligament is connective tissue that connects one bone to another bone at a joint. Sprains are also graded in severity from Grade 1, again microtrauma to Grade 3, complete rupture.
So, going back to the original question, TRISTEVE, sounds like you could have a muscle strain on your hands. If there is not any bruising, and no defect in the muscle that you can see or feel then it’s likely a grade 1 injury. Now it is also possible that this is more of a tendonitis-type injury as well. At any rate, the recommenation of R.I.C.E is a good one, I would also add some light stretching. Keep in mind rest does not mean total rest, it’s relative rest, if you’re ok in the pool or on the bike go for it.