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God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM!
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Title says it all. I'm in mid taper and went out for a short run last night and developed some tightness in my left calf. Normally I just run through it and the tightness loosens up on its own, but last night it started to build and turn painful so I shut the run down just not soon enough.

Its a fairly mild sprain and the muscle still feels tight but there's no pain when I walk. Hoping there is a chance that it heals by Sunday.

Other than the usual rest, ice, compression and elevation, anything else I can do to speed up recovery?

Is foam rolling advised so soon after the injury?
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Might want to find an A.R.T. dude or dudette to have them beat on it a bit.


float , hammer , and jog

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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Murphy'sLaw] [ In reply to ]
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^^^ this - you will be amazed at what a difference a single session will make.

Also, order a lacrosse ball and roll the attachment point where the ART is performed.

Good luck!
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Foam roll above and below the injury, not directly on the injury. Roll out your hamstrings, glutes and quads also. You can use a rolling pin on your calves if you don't have a 'Stick' or similar, it will get in a bit deeper, lax ball as someone else suggest can get in there also. I'd be cautious with the ice after a couple days, it can slow the healing as it prevents blood flow.

ART is a waste, get a real massage if you want outside help.

Also, you won't lose fitness if you do nothing between now and the race so take it easy.
Last edited by: iruntrails: Sep 13, 17 10:58
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [iruntrails] [ In reply to ]
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iruntrails wrote:
Also, you won't lose fitness if you do nothing between now and the race so take it easy.

Thanks everyone. Definitely agree with the above. I wont' be testing the injury with any additional running pre-race so it will be a wait and see how it is when I get off the bike on Sunday. I can run through mild pain, but don't want to cause any serious injuries if it starts to really flare up.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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What's it feel like when your run. The reason I asked is my calves started acting up two weeks ago after a 15 mile run and they've never been quite right since. Mine don't feel like a strain although they hurt while I'm running it just feels like a lot of cramping. I don't have any pain walking but the second I start to run it comes back. When I foam roll my calves it feels like somebody stuffed a bunch of golf balls under there
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Try some kinesio tape. You can usually get it at your local pharmacy, running store or Amazon. I found it works quite well for me. Had a calf strain and achilles strain this summer. Taped both up and was able to run almost pain free. Little throbbing but nothing to stop you from running.

You'll need to tape up before the swim. Tape won't adhere if your legs are wet or sweaty after the bike. Most tapes will work fine in the water. I usually use KT tape or Rocktape.

If you google KT tape on youtube, they have a bunch of videos of how to tape different parts of your body. How much stretch you need in the tape, etc.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Apollo71 wrote:
Title says it all. I'm in mid taper and went out for a short run last night and developed some tightness in my left calf. Normally I just run through it and the tightness loosens up on its own, but last night it started to build and turn painful so I shut the run down just not soon enough.

Its a fairly mild sprain and the muscle still feels tight but there's no pain when I walk. Hoping there is a chance that it heals by Sunday.

Other than the usual rest, ice, compression and elevation, anything else I can do to speed up recovery?

Is foam rolling advised so soon after the injury?

It should be fine. I did this in December. Ran on the Tuesday in my new racing flats, ended up with a strain in my left calf. Spent the rest of the week googling and posting obsessively about my calf, it was really stressful. I would say RICE, don't bother running. I did a light 2km run on the Friday just to check functionality i.e could I run 2km without pain. I ended up using 2 compression socks on one calf, felt uncomfortable to run in, but no pain and calf posed no problems. I didn't end up running in my racing flats - Hyperspeeds and went back to my more cushioned Asics Noosas. So don't stress, perhaps consider a compression sock, they seem to really help me with minor strains.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Apollo71 wrote:
Title says it all. I'm in mid taper and went out for a short run last night and developed some tightness in my left calf. Normally I just run through it and the tightness loosens up on its own, but last night it started to build and turn painful so I shut the run down just not soon enough.

Its a fairly mild sprain and the muscle still feels tight but there's no pain when I walk. Hoping there is a chance that it heals by Sunday.

Other than the usual rest, ice, compression and elevation, anything else I can do to speed up recovery?

Is foam rolling advised so soon after the injury?

Exactly the same thing happened to me. Go get a hard massage.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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zedzded wrote:
It should be fine. I did this in December. Ran on the Tuesday in my new racing flats, ended up with a strain in my left calf. Spent the rest of the week googling and posting obsessively about my calf, it was really stressful. I would say RICE, don't bother running. I did a light 2km run on the Friday just to check functionality i.e could I run 2km without pain. I ended up using 2 compression socks on one calf, felt uncomfortable to run in, but no pain and calf posed no problems. I didn't end up running in my racing flats - Hyperspeeds and went back to my more cushioned Asics Noosas. So don't stress, perhaps consider a compression sock, they seem to really help me with minor strains.

That's encouraging. It feels tight right now but no pain when I walk. As Mattr suggested, I plan on using KT Tape the day of the race and will also be putting on a compression sock in T2. Holding my breath until then. It should be obvious in the first few kms whether its going to be a problem.

Fishbum - I've had tightness before and some brief mild pain that would eventually go away during a run, but on Tuesday it was elevating quickly so I'm pretty sure its a strain. Some conflicting opinions on foam rolling and I read an article not to use the foam roller until its had a chance to heal.

NAB777 - I'm trying to schedule an appointment with my physio and waiting to hear if there are any cancellations before the weekend. Holding off on hard massage and A.R.T. until my physio takes a look at it.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Apollo71 wrote:
Title says it all. I'm in mid taper and went out for a short run last night and developed some tightness in my left calf. Normally I just run through it and the tightness loosens up on its own, but last night it started to build and turn painful so I shut the run down just not soon enough.

Its a fairly mild sprain and the muscle still feels tight but there's no pain when I walk. Hoping there is a chance that it heals by Sunday.

Other than the usual rest, ice, compression and elevation, anything else I can do to speed up recovery?

Is foam rolling advised so soon after the injury?

Up to you whether you want to try this, but I've had great success with "voodoo flossing" (google it) to quickly address mild to moderate muscle issues. My one worry would be that if you've never tried it before, there's always the risk that it could make things worse for you.

Drinking plenty of water and being sure to get plenty of sleep are surprisingly underrated for tissue repair. And they can't hurt.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Leave your racing flats at home on Sunday.

Edited to add: If it is a tear, even grade 1, as opposed to just a strain, you won't be running again in 5 days.
Last edited by: satanellus: Sep 14, 17 16:18
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Fishbum] [ In reply to ]
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Did anyone say get a heel lift in the shoe? I did see someone suggest tape also a good thing.

On a 5km run leg once, my right calf /Soleus let go caused me to drop on the trail. Got back up and one-legged it to the finish (1km). I had a sore Achilles going in. .

2-3 it weeks later it had healed pretty nicely, but the Achilles took 2 years.

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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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satanellus wrote:
Leave your racing flats at home on Sunday.

Edited to add: If it is a tear, even grade 1, as opposed to just a strain, you won't be running again in 5 days.

Having a look on the net about recovery times from a Grade 1 tear, it seems to be hugely variable from 1 week to 4 weeks. If it's a very mild tear and he has it strapped and/or compression bandage I think he will be OK. A lot of phyios will err on the side of caution. You don't want to be re-injuring it, so they might suggest 2 weeks rest, despite being able to run on it after 1 week. If he wa
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Had a calf strain 10 days out from a HIM in 2016. I was bummed, but a friend far more experienced than I suggested massage, physical therapy, to keep biking and swimming but not to run before the event and "hope for the best on race day". I followed his advice and finished. He also recommended using an elliptical if I wanted but I hate those things.

I would say the massage was very beneficial although painful.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [HaydenHunter] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks all. There's a lot of good advice here. I managed to find a last minute appointment with a chiropractor yesterday and had my calf looked at. Appears to be a mild strain of the soleus muscle. The treatment was light massage, stretching with ultrasound therapy followed by ice.

The plan is no more running pre-race, but I biked on the trainer and swam last night without any issues.

Cautiously optimistic about being able to run on Sunday, but it should be pretty obvious heading out of after T2 whether it will be a go or not.

Will be running in the same running shoes I've used all season - Kinvara 5 - and will be using KT tape and a compression sleeve with lots of pre-race stretching. 90 km bike ride should also warm up the calf muscle.

Someone above suggest to try heel lifts in the shoe. Sounds like it would be a good idea, but I don't really want to mess with things and try something radically new on race day and cause other problems.

If there was more time before the race - 10 days or more - the chiropractor would have recommended deep massage and A.R.T, but with race day this weekend they felt it might do more harm than good.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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I wouldn't worry about it. Your legs will be warmed up after the bike and you won't even notice it. Be careful getting out of the swim though, a lot of people strain their calves trying to sprint out of the water.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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UPDATE: I had my HIM on Sunday and with 5 days of rest, KT Tape, a compression sock and a compression sleeve, I was able to run the entire 21.1 kms without any issues.

I felt a twinge in my calf during the run-up to T1 and so I had a sinking feeling that it wasn't going to make it, but the bike likely helped to warm up the muscle.

It was unseasonably hot on Sunday (28 C and felt like 34 C) and so not my best day out there, but the poor performance was not due to the calf strain.
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Re: God D@mn It! Calf Strain 5 Days Before HIM! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]
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Good to hear. Congrats!
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