Yes, I had an MRI. I had torn ligaments in my SI joint and torn muscles throughout my lower back from a car accident in 1995. Simple over use injuries made it worse years after. It was painful pulling myself out of bed and pretty much had to stop all training.

After 2 rounds of platelets, I have the back of a 20 year old again. As I understand it, it's all about how good the Doc is with a sonogram.

Also had prolo/dextrose shot into 2 displaced and 1 broken rib 4 weeks ago. My MD read the 3 week X-rays after telling me I was done for 12 weeks, chuckled and said "what ever you're doing, keep doing it" and told me I could start excercising again.

I have several friends I've referred, etc. If you have a muscle, ligament or tendon issue which won't fix itself with massage, rice, Graston etc., and have access to a Doc that has been helping athletes with platelets for a while, you might check them out.

There's a reason all the pro golfers are having it done on their backs. Not to mention Tiger having it done on his knee---Dwight Howard last year on his shoulder. I can PM you my guy if you want, he know what he's doing and I'm pretty thankful a friend told me to go see him.

Something else that has helped me, I think I read it here, is walking about 10 mins before every run. That seems to really be making a difference, especially since I run first thing in the morning with little walking prior. I can tell a very noticeable difference in my gait when I warm up walk before I run. For what that's worth...

Read the calf injuries section in Noakes' "Lore of Running". Cross friction, cross frictions , cross frictions, this was a revelation to me and ended years of on off calf related injuries with no definitive diagnosis.

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It's only impossible if you stop to think about it.

http://www.active.com/...oss-friction-massage

Very interesting, are you doing this yourself with a roller or The Stick? Or is a PT doing it?

Do a search on Dry Needling if it is truly a muscle issue, I just had the treatment after many A.R.T, graston, rolling, icing, etc. It helps release a muscle that cannot be reached with even deep tissue massage. I had it done on my Ant. Tibialis. Zero pain, just a little crampy feeling. If you exhaust all of the above. It is different than acupuncture.

Try looking at your back - chances are the issues are up the kinetic chain...not in the calf itself (although it does sound like it probably has a lot of scar tissue).

Several ways to look at things:
1. Foundation - by Dr. Eric Goodman
2. Melt Method - Suzy Hitman (to lazy to go look)
3. Pain Free by Pete Egoscue

My personal opinion? Stay away from Graston, and quit attacking the calf muscles. Instead look at the imbalances in your core because chances are that is what is causing the issue.

I personally fight the odd hamstring/piriformis, then achilles tendonitis (goes from one leg to the other), and have found that my issues aren't from those joints or muscles, but actually from how level my hips are or how tight my low back is as well.

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Debi Bernardes

Owner, UCANDOIT Coaching Group, LLC

Weekly 30 min with therapist, also 2 x daily 5 min by me, sore but worked well within a short time

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It's only impossible if you stop to think about it.

I suffered with calf heart attacks terribly for about 8 years, and now I'm CURED! I was on a statin drug for high cholesterol. Tried everything until two years ago when I changed PCP. The new doc is a geriatric guy that studies the effects of statins on active seniors. We tried lowering dosages and different statins - nothing worked.
When I signed up for IMFL2013 I asked him if I could stop taking the statin for the year to see if I could train harder/longer. In two weeks I was well! PM me if you want the long story.
BTW, I'm in M60-64 fwiw.

Ill give it a try

+1 for me, but I didn't have the patience to wait for 8 years. I punted on the statin after about 4 months. No issues since.

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-- Scott

Fortunately I am not on statins, so I can't stop taking them!

Thanks great advice

If you have seen a doctor, been advised there is nothing seriously wrong with your leg, and are in good physical condition otherwise, then I recommend running therapy. Start with 4 days per week of continuous "running" but no walking. Begin with 30 minute sessions then increase as you can both in terms of days and time. If you feel like it is going to pull don't push off on the ball of your foot but keep going. You can continue to do the exercises to strengthen your calf and Achilles, use the foam roller, etc. but stick to your plan. Keep a log. Measure your mileage/minutes but not speed. You don't have to look good doing it. Give it 6 months of diligent day in day out effort then reassess.

If you feel like it is going to pull don't push off on the ball of your foot but keep going. NO and NO again. If it is going to pull, STOP running.

I based my reply on the OP's comment that he has been dealing with this issue for a decade. Clearly stopping when it hurts is not working. I recommend he give his body a chance to adapt to increasing workload by not stopping until he has completed a predetermined distance. Then gradually increase it over time. I have worked through both calf and Achilles issues this way after getting approval from a sports doc to do so and run pain free today.

That won't work, I have to stop, it is not a niggle , it is definitely an injury, it puts me out for 3-6 weeks each time. The only way to deal with this is run without it happening

i'm over 65, had calf issues too. all pretty good advice above. i use beastie balls to massage almost nightly my calves, hips and quads. for the calf i put on bench and massage my calves while lying on floor & watching tv just before bed time. i add ankle weight to foot to get more leverage and penetration. sounds simple but it works on busting up trigger points and fascia. much cheaper than massage or graston. about 3-5 minutes each leg. i look to mobilitywod website for inspiration and ideas. one more thing is to make sure you get enough magnesium. good luck.

Running style and/or shoes.

Good luck!

I have had similar issues for the past 3 years and they are essentially under control now. I would be able to run 2 to 3 months and then get a soleus strain and be out 3 to 6 weeks and start the cycle over and over. Last count it has happened about 12 times. I have tried astym, gaston, had an MRI, had nerve conduction studies, went and saw three different experts who essentially suggested all the above. It wasn't t until I changed my running mechanics and fixed my tight hip flexors. I now have focused on strengthening my weak glutes, continue mid foot running with a higher cadence. I also switched to running in the hoka bondi. Post run I stretch hip flexors and roll out calves religiously.
It is a very frustrating issue. Do u heal strike, what is your cadence? Are your hip flexors tight, do you run utilizing your glutes, glute strength? Hamstring strength?

Hi
Nice to hear from you, Hope you have got your problem sorted!>>......
I have been working now for three months on glut med and glut max strengthening (progressing from side bridge clams to single leg squats, good mornings, monster walks etc, also rec fem and psoas stretching (frustratingly hard to make any impact), I am trying to get my cadence up to 180, but is hard (especially since I have done hardly any running) and also landing more fore/mid foot.

I am working with a physio who has an interest in running biomechanics, but also reading a lot myself and doing my own vid analysis of my technique/style. I have noticed I tend to dorsiflex the offending side at initial contact, slightly more than the good side, also I am tighter in hip flexors on bad side. Interestingly, my stability and hip alignment is worse on good side and it is only slowly improving, I also have a slightly tighter/shorted deep compartment (soleus etc on the bad side).

I am interested in the shoes, I came across Hokas recently, but they don't sell them in New Zealand. I am thinking of grabbing a pair on ebay I have new orthotics (much to the disgust of my anti orthotic physio!) But I have found orthotics in the past have helped with previous issues, eg shin splints. Downside is of course extra weight and ? as to what they are doing to natural foot mechanics. My left ankle tends to pronate a little more than desirable during dorsiflexion, (I think my ankle joint is a little hypomobile in neutral dorsiflexion so at end range it tends to pronate. Also my left (problem) leg is slightly shorter than the right - not sure of significance of this....
How do you find the Hokas. I recently read that they and perhaps Karhus are very suitable to orthotics as they are relatively stiff in the mid sole area providing a firm platform for the orthotic, whereas many other shoes are very flexible in that area?

Have only been back running now about 2 weeks. Am doing about 15 min warm ups, lunges, skipping and drills, then 15 min running flat working on high cadence, posture and foot strike.
So far no probs, but really it never happens until I have been running a good few weeks and then usually just out of the blue......
Ashley

Thanks Tyrod
My self treatment of the calfs has stopped recently, must start again. I take Mg supps

 
Re "Cross-friction"
"The maneuvers are applied directly to the injury site, perpendicular to the injured muscle, and must be applied vigorously. If the cross-friction treatment does not reduce the athlete to tears, either the diagnosis is wrong and should be reconsidered or the physiotherapist is being too kind."

The end result of [lack of joint ROM, bad alignment, short & tight tendons & constant pounding of running etc] is an electrical storm in our poor lower leg. Hence the term "heart attack". that is accurate. I had it last year in last km of a race!

Ultimately it's an electrical signal overload. When you overload the system, the leg can never relax and heal up.

So I had a couple hours last night did the above-style massage from my Achilles upward, following a the tendons deep inside the lower leg, up to the base of the knee. Two or three lines were really "hot". This is under the calf muscle and involving what feel like tendons.

Then I get to one sore spot, working it my WHOLE leg goes into a spasm! I have to grab the toe and pull back hard.

I think this is a great way to lengthen/relax underlying tendons. And quiet that electrical storm down. I you think about it, things that stop nerve electricity are:
Ice bath /cooling
PT electric shock therapy machines
Acupuncture

Things that help tight tendons become more rubbery:
Direct mechanical manipulation ( MF release)
Heat/warm-up
Stretching

And the Long term Fix:
Shock reduction (ie Hokas)
Proper ankle, joint and leg function & ROM
Reduced RSI (ie train with just platform bike pedals, cross train etc)

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
FM Sports: http://fluidmotionsports.com

see comment on cross friction. i do this on the beastie ball and foot circles. you might want to warm your muscles up on a heating pad. that helps too. it took me a few days of constant attention to break the code, but any dereliction in self treatment will manifest in problems.

Have you tried Mg oil spray. It's not really an oil, just feels like it is. I use it right on the calf before I go for a run. I haven't looked into the validity of this statement, but I was told that it's absorbed faster when applied transdermally.

I also finally gave in started getting cold laser. I've heard from enough people who said it worked for them so I tried it. It seems to be working for me. I was out for about a year with calf/achilles issues. It took about 6 cold laser treatments to notice a difference and have just recently increased the # of times a week I run, my total run volume and the intensity and have been fine where before the cold laser I couldn't even get to this point w/o a relapse. They treat both my calf and achilles.

Before I did cold laser I did everything short of surgery and nothing gave me enough relief to run more than 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week, no matter how slowly I built up to that.

Live in the USA so hokas are easy to get, I am on my 3 rd pair, I also use karhu's btw, they force mid foot striking, today I ran in a pair of Scott's. Seriously fix your glutes and your hip flexors..everyday do hip flexor stretches and I will assume you sit a lot and or ride a bike a lot. When I became a better biker I became I worse runner, now I am trying to reverse that. ( I could run sub 33. 10 k's) I have been running straight for 26 weeks, last year it was off and on and the previous year it was run 2 weeks take 3 off. I would be willing to look at your video, I am a coach as well as a physician, and I have done verything u can imagine..if your foot size is 11 I would even send you a pair of used hoka's..feel free to pm me further.