There is a thread down below that I think was entitled ouch, my calf hurts. This dealt mostly with a pain in the bottom part of the calf that I have come to know well.

There is better information in that thread, but I have been helped a lot by heel raises or whatever they are called. Stand with your toes on a stair and you heels hanging down below it. Raise your body weight up and down using your legs. Go up on your toes and all the way down. You get very sore at first, but it help your Achillies and your calfs.

I am told this injury is only for those around 40 or above. If so, welcome to the club.

I'm just coming off 6 weeks of no running due to a calf problem. I iced it a lot and didn't run (I still was able to ride and swim though). In the past I've gone to phsysiotherapy and gotten ultrasound which seemed to help speed up recovery. Injuries suck!

I would agree with what allan said... I would go to the Doc and get a refferal to a physical therapist. If you had a tear in your calf it is likely that you have weakness in your calf in addition to the tear making it difficult to come back. A physical therapist would abe able to help you out in this department

That "ouch my calf..." was my post. Mine was diagnosed as a strain of the MT junction of the gastroc. I'm going to my 4th PT session in about 15 minutes. I'm doing PT 2x per week. They are applying ultrasound, having me stretch twice per day, do toe raises/extensions along the lines described by Art and doing deep tissue massage. The PT says there's just a little "gunky" spot on the inside lower part of the gastroc. I'm down to just a little ache/twinge a few times per day now, occurring randomly. I hope to be running again in a couple of weeks. Looking back on injuries/soreness over the past couple of years, I think calf muscles are a weak spot for me, so I'm going to try to keep up the extensions and stretching indefinitely.

Good luck with it.

And, dammit Art, I'm only 37.

Sounds like you are going about it the correct way. however, I have found that most calve/achilles problems come from the soleus muscle not the gastroc. the calf is made up of 2 muscles the gastroc.(the meatier part of the upper calf) and the soleus(smaller, thinner muscle under the gastroc.)What is important to realize is that the gastroc. muscle crosses the knee joint while the soleus does not. Therefore when doing any stretching or strengthening exercises, if the leg is straight you are not working the soleus, only the gastroc. so start doing calf raises seated with the weight across your thighs. This is the only way to strengthen the soleus muscle and prevent further irritation and damage to the "calf" as a whole.

I actually just started running again today after a 3 week layoff due to a calf problem. I've had them before, so here's my recommendation.

If you have the time and money go to PT. I felt the ultrasound helped me. This last time I went without PT. I found I need at least 3 weeks off of running. Any less and the problem comes right back (biking and swimming ok). During those 3 weeks I iced the calf after every swim/ride and once again in the evening. Plenty of stretching and toes raises. Personally, my calf problems always come in the off season when I'm not being as careful with my hydration and nutrition and I can always seem to tie them to dehydration.

Best of luck.

The soleus is definitely involved with my injury. I have a distinct sore spot right in the meaty section on the bottom inner portion of the gastroc. However, I was able to "run through" that and would just have some soreness the next day. What finally stopped me in my tracks was a feeling, after just running a quarter of a mile or so, of a sharp, sharp (cramp-like) pain laterally across my lower leg, just below the meaty bottom of the gastroc. This happened twice, one week apart, with no running in between.

My thought is that the sharp pain was probably due to the soleus compensating for the sore, weak, tired, pathetic gastroc that wasn't doing its job.

In any event, at PT, in addition to the stand on the tiptoes style extensions, they have been having me do the seated toe raises with the weight across the knee, too. Glad to hear that works the soleus.

I didn't get any sharp pains when biking, but was continuing to feel some twinges when riding, so I have decided to knock that off for a week too. Next week is vacation, so I'm hoping to get things rolling again in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm swimming my rear off, and that's my weak area anyway.

As a physio, I support the physio route. Your doc may also prescribe a drug to control inflammation. Make sure to have the physio look at your overall movement to make sure this calf strain (assuming that's the correct diagnosis) didn't come from or has created a problem elsewhere (secondary/compensation injuries are quite common).

In addition to going to physio, you may want to try to keep some running shape using water jogging. There are special belts which you attach to your waist and allow you to run in the deep end of a pool (ie. no foot contact). When I used water running I tried to keep the leg turnover as close to natural as I could (with a little more emphasis on the hip flexion aspect) and with a high cadence. It was a reasonable workout as I was able to get my HR in my low aerobic range and I had no pain. I could only stand 30-45 minute sessions, but I had likely lost less endurance having done this while my ankle injury healed. If you try this, just make sure there is no pain during or increased pain after the workout; if you have either stop and use the time to improve your flexibility or catch up with friends etc.

Cheers,

Richard

Hi,

In your calf you have three main muscles, the gastrocneimus, the soleus and the tibialis posterior (which is between the two bones of the lower leg, goes behind your inside ankle and then inserts into your arch). All three of these muscles will cause you to have AT pain, as well as some pai in your calf, heel and arch.

The gastroc begins behind your knee and becomes the AT, and the soleus begins at the middle of your posterior shinbone and also merges into the fibers of the AT. The purpose for all three muscles is to pull your heel up so you can stand on your toes. As a result, any exercise that has you stand on your toes is contracting the muscles, not stretching them.

You can find and treat the spasms that are shortening the muscle fibers in several different ways. One of them is to sit in a chair and put your calf on top of your opposite knee. For example, to work on your right calf, put the top of your right calf directly onto your left kneecap. Place your hands on your right shinbone for additional strength and assisted direction. Now, draw your right leg up so your left kneecap is pressing into the right fibers all the way down to your ankle. Each of the "bumps" you pass over are spasms, and they will hurt. These are the trigger points you need to release.

To release them simply keep your kneecap steady on the point for 60 seconds and then continue sliding down toward the heel. Do that several times in the center of your calf, then turn your foot in toward midline and do the same movements. You are now working the inside fibers of the muscles. Finally, turn your foot out and do the movements again. This time you are working the outside fibers of the calf.

As for stretching the calf. Everyone know how to do the one where you put your (in this case right leg) back and then bend your left knee. BTW, you don't need to be bending your body forward or pressing into a wall, that is only contracting a muscle called the psoas and doesn't do anything to help the calf stretch. This part of the stretch is for the gastroc muscle.

The part that I frequently see athletes miss is the stretch for the tibialis posterior and for the soleus. Stay in the same position, then keeping a straight up posture, move your hips back and bend your right knee as if you were trying to kneel - but keep your foot flat on the floor.

This is a little difficult to explain without pictures, but I hope you can figure it out. This second part of the stretch will cause you to feel the stretch in a totally different area. Most people haven't stretched these two muscles nearly enough, and I find that these muscles are the primary cause of AT - for exactly that reason.

We have a really active forum that discusses how to self treat spasms all over your body (with a big emphasis on the legs and hips) at www.julstro.com. As you read through the threads you'll get lots of answers to your questions. Also, go to the section that says "Muscles and Pain" for some understanding of why a muscle spasm in a totally "seemingly unrelated" area can cause pain someplace else.

Hope this has been helpful to you,

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

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Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.