Patient: Female, 41 years old
Date: January 4 2023, first visit
Main Problem: Pain in both calf muscles for 3 days
I learned from patient that this time, due to her busy life and feeling of fatigue recently, she accidentally missed one’s footing and injured her calf when going down the stairs.
【Diagnosis】
While checking patient’s calf, when my hand touched the skin of calf, I felt that these parts had severe heating and swelling, and even a slight touch of the patient’s calf would feel pain, plus the pain was persistent accompanied by tingling sensation.
The basic diagnosis is that the calf muscle is injured and is still in the stage of inflammation.
After a preliminary examination and diagnosis, patient was invited to the treatment room and lay down on the treatment bed for treatment.
【Treatment】
Try to minimize pressing inflamed parts during the treatment. Because if keep pressing this part, it is easier to aggravate the pain of the inflamed part, and even cause secondary injury.
After combined treatment with Tuina Therapy and acupuncture, patient was asked to get up and try to walk around. “There is still pain but it is more relieved when walking.”
“This is normal, because it is currently in the inflammation period, and the calf muscles are used when walking, so there will be pain when walking, but I have relaxed the muscle groups that affect the calf so now you will feel more relieved when you walk. It will take 2-3 days of recuperation.”
“I will prescribe some traditional Chinese medicine for you to take. Besides regulating your body, it will also help relax the meridians and blood circulation. I will also give you apply external medicine ointment to help reduce inflammation and blood circulation on the inflamed parts.”
Before patient left, I told her again: “In the next few days, try to rest as much as possible, walk less, and remember to take medicine and apply medicine on time. After applying medicine, the pain will be a lot relieved.”
Follow-up consultation: January 06, 2023
Two days later, patient came back for follow-up visit.
After 2 days of oral Chinese Medicine and external medicine application, patient said that the symptoms of her calf had improved and she could walk more smoothly, but she still felt some pain when going down the stairs.
In addition, sleep is better, and the body is not so hot.
When I checked patient’s calf again, the inflammation left a slight sense of heat, so the inflammation was greatly reduced.
This time, patient was treated with Tuina therapy and acupunture ， to help relax the calf muscles, reduce inflammation and activate blood circulation.
After the treatment, patient felt that her calves became more relaxed and she walked more smoothly.
“Because the calf has not fully recovered, I will prescribe traditional Chinese medicine and external medicine ointment for you to continue.”
The patient came back next week and told that the condition of the calf has been cured, so there is no follow-up visit, and she just continues to take traditional Chinese medicine to recuperate the body.
【Tips when calf is strained】
- Touch the injured part and feel the skin temperature. If the part feels hot and more painful when touched, you can use ice water bag for 10-15 minutes to relieve inflammation and pain.
- Conversely, when we touch the injured part and feel that the skin temperature is normal plus there is no heating or even feels tight, we can use a hot water bag for 10-15 minutes, temperature recommended is not to exceed 45°C to avoid burns on the skin. Hot compresses can relax tensed muscles and promote blood circulation.
- After the calf is injured, rest as much as possible and move less, to prevent more burden on injured part and aggravate the condition.
- It is recommended to take a walk around 30-45 minutes to strengthen calf muscles and blood circulation to reduce the chance of injury.
- If the pain persists and does not get relieved the next day after the injury, please consult a physician who can handle muscle injuries for examination and treatment, to prevent delays on the treatment time.
此文章还有以下语言版本：
简体中文 (Chinese (Simplified)) 
Melayu (Malay)
