Suggest Remedy For Severe Calf Muscle Pain

Posted on Tue, 17 Nov 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 Answered on

Tue, 8 Dec 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Is there an easy way to tell the difference between a calf muscle strain and a DVT? I have a history of multiple PEs and I developed an awful pain in my calf Saturday and it's not getting any better. I didn't strain my calf muscle which leads me to think it's a possible clot again. Any way to find out without wasting a trip to the doc?

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
As detailed.

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Thanks for your query.
Noted your history of multiple PEs. You have an awful pain in your calf since Saturday which is not getting better.
You feel that you have not strained your calf muscle, hence are thinking of a clot. Wants to know the way to differentiate:

Strain usually does not cause redness, swelling and raised local temperature.
May be easily walked-off.

The pain of DVT will be constant and there will be raised local temperature, redness and the edema of the affected limb.
The pain increases on pressure on the calf and by dorsiflexion of the ankle, simply stating can increase with walking or even standing.

But the confirmation is always by ultrasonography and color doppler examination particularly in a person with history of PE in past.

I hope this answer helps you,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar