ArticleSports medicine - open2022
The Assessment, Management and Prevention of Calf Muscle Strain Injuries: A Qualitative Study of the Practices and Perspectives of 20 Expert Sports Clinicians.
Article in Sports medicine - open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Return-to-Play Criteria Following Lower Limb Muscle Injuries in Soccer: A Systematic Review with Evidence Synthesis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Ready or Not; A Narrative Synthesis of Sports Medicine Practitioners' Practices During Return to Play in the Management of Musculoskeletal Injuries.European journal of sport science · 2025Pooled it
- Calf Injuries: An Anatomy-Based Approach to Diagnosis, Management and Return to Sport.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2026Review
- Proximal Hamstring-Related Sciatic Nerve Entrapment Presenting as Recurrent Hamstring Strain in a Professional Footballer: A Case Report.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2026Article
- Real-time shear wave elastography and high-frequency ultrasound in the assessment of treatment outcomes for triceps surae muscle injury.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Epidemiology, Work-Up, and Management of Common Track and Field Injuries.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2026Review
- Flexor Digitorum Longus Strain in a Spinal Cord Injury Patient: A Case Report of a Rare Diagnosis.Cureus · 2026Article
- Calf Strains in Athletes: A Narrative Review of Management, Injury Grading, and Return to Sport.Sports medicine - open · 2025Review
- MS-Detector: A Hierarchical Deep Learning Method to Detect Muscle Strain Using Bilateral Symmetric Ultrasound Images of the Body.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Voluntary activation of the ankle plantar flexors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.JSAMS plus · 2025Review
- Evaluation of injury rates in soccer players before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Muscle or Fascial System Lesion (Part II): The Medial Gastrocnemius and the "Tennis Leg" Paradigm.Cureus · 2025Review
- Vitamin D and its relationship to performance and health during a competitive period in elite women's basketball and volleyball players.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- Excellent Reliability for an Instrumented Test of Ankle Plantarflexion Force.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2025Article
- What is a recurrence? The onset, frequency and time loss impact of recurrent calf muscle strain injuries in elite male Australian football players over a decade.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2025Article
- Correlation between MRI findings and functional outcomes in patients with calf muscle strain injuries: a retrospective study on 78 patients.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Magnetic resonance classification proposal for medial gastrocnemius muscle injuries.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2024Review
- A Novel Minimally Invasive Surgically Induced Skeletal Muscle Injury Model in Sheep.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Medial Gastrocnemius Strain: Clinical Aspects and Algorithmic Approach.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2024Article
- Validity and intrarater reliability of a novel device for assessing Plantar flexor strength.PloS one · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite calf muscle strain injuries (CMSI) being problematic in many sports, there is a dearth of research to guide clinicians dealing with these injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current practices and perspectives of a select group of international experts regarding the assessment, management and prevention of CMSI using in-depth semi-structured interviews.
resultsTwenty expert clinicians working in elite sport and/or clinician-researchers specialising in the field completed interviews. A number of key points emerged from the interviews. Characteristics of CMSI were considered unique compared to other muscle strains. Rigor in the clinical approach clarifies the diagnosis, whereas ongoing monitoring of calf capacity and responses to loading exposure provides the most accurate estimate of prognosis. Athlete intrinsic characteristics, injury factors and sport demands shaped rehabilitation across six management phases, which were guided by key principles to optimise performance at return to play (RTP) while avoiding subsequent injury or recurrence. To prevent CMSI, periodic monitoring is common, but practices vary and data are collected to inform load-management and exercise selection rather than predict future CMSI. A universal injury prevention program for CMSI may not exist. Instead, individualised strategies should reflect athlete intrinsic characteristics and sport demands.
conclusionsInformation provided by experts enabled a recommended approach to clinically evaluate CMSI to be outlined, highlighting the injury characteristics considered most important for diagnosis and prognosis. Principles for optimal management after CMSI were also identified, which involved a systematic approach to rehabilitation and the RTP decision. Although CMSI were reportedly difficult to prevent, on- and off-field strategies were implemented by experts to mitigate risk, particularly in susceptible athletes.
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