Going home after your visit
Calf strain — advice for adults
How to care for a pulled calf muscle, and the warning signs to watch for.
You have a calf strain — a pull or partial tear of a muscle at the back of your lower leg. Most heal well over a few weeks with simple care. Please read this and keep it handy.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
this Emergency Department your nearest A&E other:
none needed
Call 999 now if any of these happen
These need an ambulance.
- Calf pain or swelling with breathlessness, chest pain, or coughing up blood — a clot may have travelled to the lung
- You collapse, or feel faint when you stand
- Your foot becomes numb, pale, blue or cold
CALL 999 A clot on the lung can develop days after a calf injury — do not wait to see if it settles.
Get same-day reassessment if any of these happen
Get seen the same day at the ED or the service named above.
- A sudden severe pain or a ‘snap’ at the back of the calf or heel, as if you were kicked — this can be a torn Achilles tendon
- You cannot push off with your foot, or go up on tiptoes
- Calf swelling, warmth and redness that does not fit the injury — this can be a clot in the leg
- The calf becomes hot and red and you feel feverish
- Pain and swelling are not improving after a few days
Two different problems to look out for
A torn Achilles tendon usually happens suddenly, with a snap or a feeling of being kicked in the back of the leg, and you cannot push off. A clot (DVT) usually builds up over days, with a calf that becomes swollen, warm, red and tender. Both need seeing the same day, but they are treated in different ways — so describe exactly how the pain started when you are seen.
For the first 2–3 days
- Rest and protect the leg, but keep gently moving it.
- Put ice wrapped in a cloth on it for 15–20 minutes, a few times a day.
- Use a compression bandage for support.
- Raise the leg when you are resting.
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain if you can take them.
- Avoid heat, alcohol and massage, and do not run, for the first 3 days.
Getting better
- Start putting weight on it and walking as the pain allows.
- Begin gentle calf stretches and strengthening as it settles.
- Build back to sport gradually over a few weeks.
- See a physiotherapist if it is slow to improve.
Where to get help
999
Life-threatening emergency, or a severe breathing or circulation problem
ED / urgent service
A warning sign above that needs same-day reassessment
111
Urgent advice when it is not life-threatening, or you are unsure — call or visit 111.nhs.uk, 24/7
Your team / GP
Use the number and follow-up plan in Your care details above