I pulled my calf muscle bowling six weeks ago.

[ralphs007]

I would think this is a pretty common injury for bowlers. I did it six weeks ago and every time I go bowling , I re injure my right calf muscle. I didn't want to miss my four weeks of bowling lessons(two hours once a week) that my local center provided so I kept bowling every Friday. Now that the lessons are over I'm not going bowling until it heals.
I'm just wondering how long this will take to heal. I read online, six to eight weeks, depending upon the severity of the strain. So if you've had this happen how long did it take and what kind of rehab did you do.
I've been following the standard "RICE" procedure with the exception of the Rest part, which is why I'm not healing .
Thanks
Ralph
P.S
I'm very thankful that I can still golf with this injury. I can even walk 18 holes ,three times a week, with no problems at all.

[J Anderson]

I would think this is a pretty common injury for bowlers. I did it six weeks ago and every time I go bowling , I re injure my right calf muscle. I didn't want to miss my four weeks of bowling lessons(two hours once a week) that my local center provided so I kept bowling every Friday. Now that the lessons are over I'm not going bowling until it heals.
I'm just wondering how long this will take to heal. I read online, six to eight weeks, depending upon the severity of the strain. So if you've had this happen how long did it take and what kind of rehab did you do.
I've been following the standard "RICE" procedure with the exception of the Rest part, which is why I'm not healing .
Thanks
Ralph
P.S
I'm very thankful that I can still golf with this injury. I can even walk 18 holes ,three times a week, with no problems at all.

I'm not sure it's all that common, I've been bowling since '75 and haven't pulled a calf muscle yet.

What you will need to do when you resume bowling is to start with a good warm up before bowling:
First you need to get the blood flowing and the muscles warm. Brisk walking, running in place, jumping jacks if you're not self-conscious will all get your heart rate up start warming the large muscle groups. If you don't opt for jumping jacks, doing big arm circles will warm up the arms and shoulders.
Now that the muscles are warm you can do some gentle stretching. Bowling, despite its pop culture image, involves almost the entire body. You need flexibility from your ankles right up through your neck.
Bowling is an asymmetric activity. You need to work to keep both sides of your body strong and flexible, as well as developing a set of core muscles to take the strain of carrying/throwing a heavy object on one side.
Start slow. Your first few throws should at half speed.
Hope you're back on the lanes soon.

[striker12]

well I have had a lot of experience with pulling my calf mussle but not from bowling all of mine was from doing track and field back in school.

but it can take anywhere from 1 week - 5 weeks to heal but you should ice it and get one of those hot pack things and switch between those too for a hr then let your leg rest don't try to walk on it that much because it will slow down the healing that's why I put 5 weeks because you golf 3 times a week it might take abit longer but as long as you stay off it as long as you can and use a ice pack and hot pack you will be good

[zdawg]

Depends on the severity, keep in mind that a strain is basically a tear (I'm assuming you already knew that). A few years ago I was doing conditioning sprints and "strained" my calf, right in the middle of the muscle, it literally just split lengthwise. While it wasn't severe enough for surgery (muscle wasn't detached), it tooks months of physical therapy and daily exercises to break down the scar tissue.

I don't know the severity of yours, my calf the next day swelled up so big it was actually bigger than my quad and I have fairly big legs....for me they also had to use a sonogram like pen to survey the area of the tear and make sure there were no blood clots (which can be fatal).

The worst part is trying to break down all the scar tissue as it is softer than normal tissue and will re-tear much more easily. My doctor was also one of the team doctors for the local Major League Soccer team, as it's a common injury for soccer players, but he emphasized the importance of letting it heal and that in the future it becomes more likely to reinjure without proper stretching, warming up, etc.

So I guess the answer is, assuming you've already seen a doctor and it is relatively minor, to just rest until it heals or face the risk of continually reinjuring it and/or making it worse. And make sure you stretch thoroughly before doing anything that could potentially place any force on the muscle.

[foreverincamo]

Sorry to hear about your calf injury. I dealt with a nagging hamstring for 3 weeks I got while practicing. My coach reminded me I am participating in a sport, and warming up is required. Now 15 minutes before I lace 'em up, I go thru a series of leg and arm stretches to help loosen up and hopefully prevent any more injuries. Hope you heal up soon and get back to bowling!

[ralphs007]

Thanks everyone for your help. It's my fault for not warming up enough before I started to bowl. I won't make that mistake again.

[MICHAEL]

Thanks everyone for your help. It's my fault for not warming up enough before I started to bowl. I won't make that mistake again.

WARMING up is highly over rated,,,, stay COOL,,,, ICE!!!