I tore my calf muscle 2 1/2 week ago. I have taken it pretty easy since it happen. Went out for a run and was feeling my calf. It does not really hurt but I can feel it in my calf. It feels like a tug. I stopped running and went to a walk but could still feel it.
I don’t want to re-tear it. But I also need to push it and it is not clear to me how it works. I know many have had this injury on the forum and curious to how far others were able to push a recently torn calf muscle. Did you stop once there you could feel the muscle? Or do you stop when the muscle starts really hurting?
I always do medicinal runs after a tear as described in teh calf heart attack article. run x walk x for x distance. do this for a week and gradually increase depending on how you respond.
What is not clear to me is do you stop as soon as you feel any tugging? Or do you stop running when it actually hurts?
I can only run about 1/2 a mile and start feeling a tug in my calf where it tore. Then switching to walking I feel the same tugging. So I don’t have where it starts bothering me switch to walking until feel better and then start running again. My guess is that there is something past the tugging and that is when I stop running and move to walking.
I personally would stop but I’ve battled those for 2 years and got fed up with the constant wear and tear (literally) before switching to BarryP. I’d take a few more days off then try again.
I’m been dealing with the same problem, including the residual tugging. I’m working with a PT on it, and I’m hoping that it will feel normal by this weekend when I attempt another run. I’d also be interested in more responses to this question, though.
I tore my calf muscle 2 1/2 week ago. I have taken it pretty easy since it happen. Went out for a run and was feeling my calf. It does not really hurt but I can feel it in my calf. It feels like a tug. I stopped running and went to a walk but could still feel it.
I don’t want to re-tear it. But I also need to push it and it is not clear to me how it works. I know many have had this injury on the forum and curious to how far others were able to push a recently torn calf muscle. Did you stop once there you could feel the muscle? Or do you stop when the muscle starts really hurting?
Rest and rehab…I wrote a pretty detailed post on how I recovered from low leg overuse injuries…You can find it in my history…but the quick version is…Rest it and strengthen if through a full range of motion doing calf raises…You don’t have to blow your calfs apart either to get them strong and bullet proof them…
I will just say this though…If you can’t do a 2x20 single leg calf raises, then you body isn’t stable enough for any run build…If you rehab properly you will get your run fitness back so much faster than nursing an injury for a year…Once you can do this running is nothing on your calves…Then it is just maintainence and proper training/recovery…
and I also don’t mean you need to go try an lay down 2x20 single leg calf raises 2 or 3 times per week during and/or after big running days/weeks either…You just need to build them into your routine…Don’t run for 10 days and build up slowly on the calf raises…start with 2 feet…There are all sorts of resources for rehabing calf…Once it is strong and stable start back to running with the run/walk protocol…
My first reccomendation is to go to a PT and let them help rehab it properly the first time!
By calf raises I assume you mean concentric strengthening, as opposed to the eccentric off-a-stair-step exercises?
I would suggest both…might want to hold off on dropping the heel off the step and stretching it until it gets stronger, but the eccentric are important as well because it strengthens your calf through a greater range of movement (lengthing a tight unbalanced muscle)…However, I focus on keeping things moving vs. trying to stretch and pull on it…Range of motion and joint mobility…not stretching a pulling…
A little better when I ran today. I also ran in shoes that had a smaller heal and less of a marshmallow. I am thinking this might be what is aggrevating it. When I tore it I was wearing Adidas. I think they are super novas. They have a very large heal that is super padded. I really like these types of shoes and most I have are built like this. But I think they are not healthy to calf and Achilles. I ran in a pair of Nike Peagsus today. The least “marshmallow” heal shoe I have.
It’s interesting that you suspect the heel construction of the shoe is the issue. The only way I could see this being an issue is if you are a major heel striker. If that’s the case, you may want to do some work on run form when your calf heels.