Calf Muscle Tears Treatment
Los Angeles

Regenerative Treatment Options for Calf Muscle Tears

A calf muscle tear begins as a strain when the muscle is stretched past its normal range of elasticity. Significant calf tears, treated with conventional passive therapy and anti-inflammation drugs, may take months to heal, and may lead to ongoing pain and limited motion. Biologic therapy offers the promise of faster and more complete recovery with reduced tissue scarring.

How biologics help

Muscle tears will progress in the absence of intervention. While rest, ice, compression and exercise has proven to assist the healing of calf muscle tears, it is generally recognized that even when completely healed, the athlete may not be able to run as far or as fast as before the injury.

he reason is that healing is compromised by the development of fibrosis shortly following the injury. This scar tissue does not perform as well as natural muscle and creates a location in the muscle where future tears are more likely to occur if pre-injury activity levels are attempted.

Biologics targets the healing activity in the injury microenvironment and stimulates the growth factors that lead to muscle regeneration while also inhibiting the creation of scar tissue. Combination biologic treatments can create a strategy of healing that is tailored to the individual patient.

Calf muscle tear types

Plantar fasciitis is characterized by pain at the bottom of the feet. These symptoms are typical:

Calf muscle tears and the older athlete

Calf muscle tears are relatively common for people over 40 who are runners or competitive sports participants in activities such as football, soccer, or cycling. While younger runners can experience calf muscle tears, younger people recover faster. The reason for this is the older athlete has lost some muscle mass and elasticity. As the bones and ligaments shift with age, motion becomes less balanced and aligned. In the legs, everything is connected and when there is excessive “sway” in repetitive motion, the legs stress and the muscles are the natural cushion to absorb shock.

Calf tear therapy

A full physical examination is done to assess the degree of injury and discover possible underlying issues that may have caused undue strain.

Blood tests may be done to determine nutritional deficiencies that may have contributed to the injury.

Dr. Yoon may require imaging of your leg to determine the depth of the injury and the exact location of the tear.

If your calf muscle is severely ruptured, you may be referred to a surgeon and Dr. Yoon will work on your regenerative healing in coordination with your surgeon.

You will be put on immediate at-home routines to bring down the swelling, limit your use of the calf, and apply compression. If the muscle tear is minimal, you’ll receive guidance on how to exercise your calf to maintain flexibility.

Depending on your exact injury, Dr. Yoon will outline your range of choices of new and innovative regenerative therapies for natural healing without surgery. You have the potential of faster and a more complete recovery with a minimal amount of micro-scarring that can affect future performance. Dr. Yoon’s approach to sports medicine in Los Angeles is to find the root cause of the injury and treat it in a manner that is tailored for your needs.