Hey guys,
Looking for help with my calf pain. It runs from my arch, behind my ankle, and up the inner side of my shin. I think this is the posterior tibialis. It has been on an off for about a year and I can’t seem to sort it out. I have a weak glute med on that side so that might be a contributor. It seems to make my ankle unstable and really flares up when I run but also is uncomfortable when biking as it is firing quite often.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry to hear about your calf pain. I’ve experienced something similar, and PT and KT tape helped me a little. I found a massage therapist who did a lot of work on my peroneal muscles which seemed to do the trick for me. Something to consider if you haven’t already.
any thoughts on orthotics?
any thoughts on orthotics?
That would be one of the traditional first attempts to help (assuming you want to keep running) IF you have either excessive amount of pronation or too rapid pronation (but normal “amount”). As you seem aware, address any of the other chain events as well.
Thanks for the comment. When you say chain events, to what specifically are you referring?
Thanks for the comment. When you say chain events, to what specifically are you referring?
Tight calf, weak glute, forefoot varus, etc.
I thought so. I am working on weak glute meds with clams, hydrants, etc as that has been a consistent issue for me.
What worked for me was rest, NSAID’s and stretch, stretch, stretch that calf out.
I would wake up and stretch.
Get up from my desk at work and stretch.
Go to the bathroom and stretch.
I think I got to the point of stretching 15-20 times per day and it resolved fairly quickly.
I also notice that when I get lazy stretching my calves after a run or hard ride, I feel pain some pain the next day, so stretching of my calves has become an automatic thing for me now.
Deep manual therapy is probably the best thing you can do for tendinopathies. Something such as ASTYM or Graston.
I’ve had both done before and I was impressed with the pain relief but it didn’t seem to sort out the root and the pain comes back. I’d imagine I am going to need to combine all of the above advice.
I had big problems with my Tib Pos a couple of years ago, it put me out for months.
I had a lot of treatment; soft tissue, cortisone injections, dry needling, accupuncture, chinese herbs blah… in the end what fixed it almost immediately was simple foot strength exercises.
Sorry in advance for all the questions- Any specific ones that work? What sort of frequency did you do the exercises? How long did it take to heal?
Inner side of your shin? Posterior tibialis goes outside. If you also have pain/weakness when curling your toes, this could be flexor digitorum longus. Treatment is likely the same, though.
I thought the posterior tib connects in the inner part of your arch and runs behind the ankle and up the inside of your calf?
They both go through the same groove in your ankle, but the upper connection (origin) of the flexor digitorum longus is inside of that of the posterior tibialis, which is kind of between your tibia and fibula. See the pics below:
Thanks. It’s definitely the flexor. Any tips for treatment?
Rest until the pain is significantly down, then start building foot and lower-leg strength (bare-foot balancing, alphabets, raises, etc)…and, as strange as it sounds, if it is the flexor, working on toe strength will help greatly. Get more supportive shoes or insoles for the time being. You’ll be able to rotate in lighter shoes/flats for specific workouts later, but I’d put them on the shelf until you’re able to run without any pain/flareups.
Awesome. Thanks for the advice. For the time being, do you think I can get away with generic inserts (superfeet) or should I go custom? My arches are pretty high.
I had a problem like that. I had a good running assessment done to make sure that I did not need any orthodics and that my runnning shoes and technic were not the problem.
After got to the Physio. Stretching was the solution for me. I had to do it 5X 30sec-1min calf stretch 5X times a day (25 total).
I also have a foam roller that I use after my long runs.
I’ve got something similar going on.
I’ve been doing PT to strengthen glutes, work on stretching, flexibility, strengthening the ankles (inversion and eversion with resistance from a theraband). I also got run video analysis and am working on some form stuff.
I have high arches and I went out and bought some superfeet which I’m going to modify (I have the skills and the shop materials to do so) since I’d like a bit more support under the navicular as well as the medial longitudinal arch. I have a varus forefoot and when I run, I was landing in a supinated position, then pronating A LOT. My left foot was also externally rotated when I landed on it (problem was on the left).
I also do some “poor man’s medial posting” by running on the left side of a crowned road (works because my injury on the left).
PT told me that I can run if it doesn’t hurt. But the minute it STARTS to hurt in any way, I must stop running. Even if it means walking home during a run. They were pretty adamant about that.