Strains of the posterior calf musculature ("tennis leg")*

Strains of the posterior calf musculature frequently relate to overuse of the gastrocnemius muscle. The principal sports involved are the slower side-to-side sports. Treatment routine is composed of pain relief, passive stretching, exercises for the antagonists and later the agonists, and quadriceps exercises. In a series of 720 patients, over a 12-year period, this routine has been effective as evidenced by a recurrence of the condition in only 0.7 % of the patients. Prevention of the injury is best obtained by regular stretching and strength development rou-tines. The strained calf muscle has been known as &dquo;tennis leg&dquo; for many years even though the first reported case occurred in Dr. W. G. Grace, probably England’s best known cricketer. ’ The lesion has been variously attributed to tears of the plantaris