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Finally zero calf pain.
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I have waited awhile (6 years) to post this, "just got back from a totally pain free 6 mile run this morning".

A little background, 40 years of triathlon, 6 years of pain and swelling in my left calf. Early on the pain would come and go and was able to fight my way through training and even complete some full and half tri's along the way. But I wasn't enjoying it, no fun. Interestingly the pain was different from a normal sports injury, this felt more like a severe painfull cramp with associated swelling in the lower leg which took days to go down. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation did nothing! Even my go to 3 Ibuprofen 3X a day regimen failed me.

As the years went on it got to a point where running wasn't an option anymore. Thank goodness for Medicare because I had every test and imaging scan imaginable. Everything came back negative, pulmonary, nerve conduction, sciatic, MRI's, spinal injections, X-ray's etc. The only thing that stuck to the wall was some increased pressure within the calf when on the treadmill. All it took was one look at some pictures of Compartment Syndrome surgery and I said no thanks.....I'll walk from now on.

Then it occurred to me that ART helped me out with a hamstring issue 10 or so years ago so off I went to a local (Wilmington, NC) chiropractor, Dr. Bradshaw. Went in for an evaluation and explained my problem, 40 years of running, last 20 forefoot running, worsening pain over the years. After some poking and prodding he nailed it, scar tissue formed between the gastrok and solius muscles. He explained that they slide across each other a bit when running and over time scar tissue can form, which is not always seen on imaging, causing pain and inflammation. It was the inflammation that caused the fluid buildup and associated swelling. He started on range of motion movements while applying deep tissue pressure pointing on the back of mid calf.

I remember walking to the car after the first treatment and thinking this was it! I feel a difference! ....of course it wasn't till 5 months and 30 or so treatments later and tons of low mileage slow walk/runs that I could say "pain free".

Worked for me, your mileage may vary....

Any questions just ask.

Ron W.
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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No questions...just happy for you that you found a solution. That must've been truly frustrating.
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [JoelO] [ In reply to ]
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What was funny was the fact that very few of the doctors thought that the swelling in the left lower leg was a big deal!

I always mentioned it and it was fairly obvious that one leg was larger than the other?

The vascular doc gave it a mention when he examined me, probably the reason for the large battery of diagnostic he ordered.


Ron W.
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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Congrats & welcome back! I've had a similar injury in the soleus area too, it took forever to heal.
That was around 8-10 months. Then I went to Hoka shoes to "protect it" and they acted like the "spring" that my legs usually do...doing the work of my leg through its massive cushion. I developed a natural protection gait with a slight hitch. I developed high hamstring tear at the attachment on the OTHER leg. Read some things on the forum here as to the possibility of the HOKA changing the gate to a more straight legged landing and having the shoe do work for me. It made sense, so I stopped using the HOKA to run in & went back to traditional drop shoes like Nike & Adidas...in addition to a PRP treatment where I had developed a stress "reaction" and the bone was pulling away with the torn hamstring attachment (due to having really bad doc advice where he had me doing sprints & weights to try to cause a natural healing process by getting it to micro-tear and re-heal stronger)...

After a year of not healing the compensation injury, I finally ditched the doctor (okay he wasn't an M.D. but was a D.C. with a sport rehab guy--so not really...kinda like going to a paralegal for law advice)..I'm sure I'll get flamed by D.C.'s here for that one but whatever. My bad. Anyhow, I was told to stop everything I was doing by my new doc and got a PRP treatment, took time off then changed my seat height on the bike when I started up & ditched the HOKA shoes. FINALLY, after just under 2 years of not racing triathlons (did a few short du's but not quite where I was pre-injury), I completed my first triathlon this past weekend. A meltdown from the heat, but encouraging that after two years I'm only 12 minutes off the winner of the AG I'll be in next year--on a melt down day. So all is well & I have my work cut out, but yeah, it's good to be back at it & I'm right there with ya on the "no pain" and back at it post. Congrats, see you on the course!
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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Congratulations!

This sounds a LOT like my calf problem (also left).....I went to doctors/imagers/had PRP over a 5 year period then gave trying and became a cyclist....but I miss running.

A few questions:
* how did the chiropractor diagnose this?
* I don't understand why imaging would not show it
* can you elaborate on the range of motion movements while he applied deep tissue pressure? (and did that hurt at the time? I can find my sore spot easily).

Thanks for any further help.
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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Yay! Good to hear ART works for you. I'm an avid believer in this. After a sports medicine doc, imaging, bone scan, MRI, podiatrist blah blah blah, I'd had enough. Nerve pain in my feet and after some research deduced I likely had scar tissue building up, pinching off the nerves. I proposed this diagnosis to my chiro. He confirmed the scar tissue. I went once or twice a week for ART on my feet and I'm pain free. Now I go in and have him do a once over on feet, legs and glutes to make sure everything is moving and sliding well. Rolling helps but it only does so much. I also try to do some myself but my chiro is the master.

Sometimes the solutions are that simple.
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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Great to hear! Going through something similar and hope to get it under control.

Did your chiro use any Graston techniques, or all ART? Or is there some crossover?
What at-home things were you doing to help compliment your ART treatments?
Have, or had, you ever had any other issues with leg cramping?
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [AKCrafty] [ In reply to ]
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Here are a couple of home care exercises to work on not only for treatment of tight calves but preventative care. Once the calf is healthy don't stop doing the things that made you healthy!

1. Ball rolling, with a lacrosse ball or baseball. Seated on the floor with legs extended, place the ball under the calf, flex and extend the ankle 10 - 12 times, then move the ball to a slightly different location and repeat. The weight of the leg creates all the pressure you'll need. The flexion - extension mimics the benefits of ART.

2. Heel drops. using a step or elevated block. I made a step with a piece of 4x4. Place a chair in front of you for balance. With weight on one leg, start with weight on toes and slowly lower weight so heel is fully dropped, creating a stretch on the calf. Do 10 reps on each side. These are also great for preventative care, getting the stretch and strengthening for the calves. With both feet in the heel drop position you can do slow pelvic tilts to get a great stretch into the hamstrings as well.

Johnny
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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OP back, My chiropractor didn't use any Graston tools to help me. His go to technique was to have me lay on my stomach and have me do full range of motion swing of my lower leg while having me do a full extension and contraction of my ankle. During this range of motion movement he pressure pointed the back of my calf at three or four locations, holding his thumb into the meat of the calf.

Difficult to do on your own.....

As to why no one noticed the scar tissue, I don't know. Possibly the scar tissue wasn't something that's not easily noticed? Or, my pet peeve with imaging in general, I'm a sure when an imaging tech/doc reads an image and sees that the patient is 72 years old they automatically think arthritis, circulation issues and muscle weakness and obesity. Then your physician takes the written diagnosis of nothing found as gospel. I'm sure reading an image is part art form and part skill that many physicians have lost? Or have the time for?

Ron W.
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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rjsurfer wrote:
OP back, My chiropractor didn't use any Graston tools to help me. His go to technique was to have me lay on my stomach and have me do full range of motion swing of my lower leg while having me do a full extension and contraction of my ankle. During this range of motion movement he pressure pointed the back of my calf at three or four locations, holding his thumb into the meat of the calf.

Difficult to do on your own.....

As to why no one noticed the scar tissue, I don't know. Possibly the scar tissue wasn't something that's not easily noticed? Or, my pet peeve with imaging in general, I'm a sure when an imaging tech/doc reads an image and sees that the patient is 72 years old they automatically think arthritis, circulation issues and muscle weakness and obesity. Then your physician takes the written diagnosis of nothing found as gospel. I'm sure reading an image is part art form and part skill that many physicians have lost? Or have the time for?

Ron W.

"scar tissue" is a pretty general term and usually is code for tissue that has just become a bit fibrotic. They aren't doing scans/diagnostics looking for "scar tissue", vs trying to rule out more serious things (tumors, DVT, tears, etc). We use the term "scar tissue" pretty loosely in health care. Glad you got some relief.

CB
Physical Therapist/Endurance Coach
http://www.cadencept.net
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [rjsurfer] [ In reply to ]
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I appreciate this thread, as I have the same issue for the last two years. I believe my tightness in my right calf was due to a tear from antibiotics. I had a severe sinus infection and it was greatly effecting my hearing. The physician placed me on Levaquin (sp), went for a short run and it initially felt like a calf pull. The antibiotic has a Black Box warning for acute tendon tears, that was not discussed by the ENT. Long story short - PRP injections, P.T. and the moderate ++ tightness continues. Limited cycling and no running after 34 years of tri's.

Do you know if there is any specific A.R.T. certifications, or how I could locate an individual in my area very familiar with the therapy?

Thanks, Chris
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Re: Finally zero calf pain. [Chris Bonz] [ In reply to ]
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Chris,

Sorry to hear of your issues...Yes, there are different certifications, I remember seeing a number of ART certifications hanging on the wall at the doctors office. Lower extremity Level 1 & 2 would be the most pertinent for your case.

Ron W.
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