I believe that I tore my soleus muscle this week-end…bruising and swelling within one hour of running. It is the interior portion that can be seen/felt between the tibia and the calf when you do calf raises. I’ve been taking ibuprofen and it does not hurt to walk, but very tender to the touch. I have an Oly on June 1 that I have been training my ass off for. Has anyone had this injury and how much damage could I cause if I continue to run until the June 1?
If you can continue to run, it can’t be that bad. When I tried to run after tearing a Soleus, I got about two blocks before I realized, running for the next couple of weeks would be out of the question.
I would continue to bike, swim, stretch, ice, medicate, and leave the running for the race, knowing that you may not be able to run the whole way.
I strained my Soleus muscle a few years ago and ever since it’s been lurking in the background. Never really bad but it’s always something that flairs up from time to time. I understand that once you have this problem it’s like that.
So now for 100% of my training runs I wear compression socks, it seems to help. Try doing that when you’re able to run again.
Trying to run with a torn muscle just kinda doesn’t sound like a good idea.
if you’re not sure if it’s torn, it’s not torn. Because if it was torn, running would be too painful for you to consider it. To prevent it from tearing you should:
google “soleus stretch” and gently practice those as often as you can. There’s good explainers out there, oftentimes using toy action figures to demonstrate poses. Also eccentric calf exercises will help.
next, I second the ice, elevation, and rest.
last, I’d advise you that one of the great things about multi-sports is that events like this present the opportunity to focus on your swim and to a lesser extent bike training, so you’ll be able to race beyond June 1.
Or, disregard all advice to prevent further injury, keep running, and enjoy a painful but decent race finish June 1 based off your exisitng fitness, followed by months of poor training that will ruin the rest of your season, and probably lead into lingering pain and increased chances of injury for the next few years.
But that’s just my opinion.
Currently battling the same injury and have done it 4 other times…the last post is the best, there are other races to do…It is usually a 3-6 week injury, RICE it and as soon as possible start soleus strengthening exercises, very specific. Go to a sports minded PT for advice on strengthening it.
I supplement elliptical training 1:1 for the time I miss running, ensure the elliptical is flat and make effort near an easy run effort by checking HR, it is not running but it is much better than pool running. Relax and be patient.
I tore my calf muscle 1 wk before an oly…went to see my sports doc and with laser therapy and acupuncture, ice and Traumeel ointment, I was able to do my oly without ANY pain! I couldn’t run at all after I tore it and didn’t try running again until 2 days before the race.
Thanks for the advise. I know the best thing to do is rest it, but that is a hard pill to swallow. I trashed my 2 month old shoes and now own a pair of Saucony Hurricane X (geez they are expensive). Tried on a dozen different stability shoes and these really stood out in comparison to the others. Been popping ibuprophin and icing. Time will tell. Thanks…just need to hear it from others sometimes.