Injured Right Calf, Need Advice

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Jay-Z Apr 2012 5:04pm, 29 Apr 2012 First-time poster!!	0 Jay-Z Hi, I'm looking for advice from fellow fetchies re: a long term injury. My right calf has been a pain, on and off, for over a year. I've raced despite it and had to rest for weeks after. After taking the recommended rest advice from doctors, it has recurred, and I'm currently undergoing physio. I've heard lots of different advice about what to do, and I'm keen to hear others' opinions and experiences. I was told by the physio that the soleus muscle was 'extremely tender', that I have very tight hamstrings, and I have a very poor core. I think initially it was due to overtraining, and may also have had something to do with poor footwear. I've heard lots about RICE, should I be doing this every day? (My physio doesn't seem very helpful, and I have a marathon to run in 4 weeks with McNewbie). Thanks
McNewbie Apr 2012 5:33pm, 29 Apr 2012 11,439 posts	0 McNewbie welcome to Fetch and posting, Jay-Z, hope you get the help you need here
T39 Apr 2012 5:34pm, 29 Apr 2012 1,143 posts	0 T39 Ahh, bless you two
T39 Apr 2012 5:35pm, 29 Apr 2012 1,144 posts	0 T39 Sorry, try Cabletow
SharonD Apr 2012 7:26pm, 29 Apr 2012 3,017 posts	0 SharonD I would shelve your marathon until you're not getting calf pain. It really depends on what you've done initially & how long you rested it for, strengthening core will help you if you also work on posture, overall strength & flexibility. I tore my right calf yesterday & have resigned myself to 6 weeks of no running, 1weeks rest, ive got a compression bandage on it & it's resting on an exercise ball, doing gentle pointing & flexing to keep mobility, will start massaging tomorrow to avoid scar tissue forming and get Physio to give it ultrasound & massage.....am consciously making an effort NOT to adapt my walking to accommodate it. Will hopefully be able to start strengthening it from next week-but will be playing it by ear with how it feels. It's very irritating but it's reoccurrence for you could be not enough rest initially, scar tissue forming which will 'shorten' the muscle and make it more likely to injure again and possibly changing your gait because of it. If you're really not getting on with Physio then find another but be prepared to rest, defer marathon, go through painful massage and strengthen and flexibility programme. Hope it gets better soon...injury sucks:-(
cabletow Apr 2012 6:49am, 30 Apr 2012 21,012 posts	0 cabletow Hi Jay-z calf injuries are a pain and ate usually the result of something very simple.. .you are leveling up over your ankle. What d o I mean? Well as your weight either lan ds you have locked the ankle with the toes pointing slightly downwards as if you are reaching for the ground, or as your weight moves forward your ankle stays and you lift your weight off the ground as if you are lifting yourself up. Simply in order to let it heal stop doing these things. How is harder though, you have to relax the ankle joint. This is hard to do unless you have the correct perception of what you are doing. Think of running as not something you do, but as something that happens. You do not push yourself along but you fall along by virtue of leaning forward from the ankle . The leg has to rotate around the ankle joint to let your body go forward. When you next run.. ..don't run till you can stand on one leg and fall into a wall leaving your heels on the ground pain free, run lower to the ground. Never let your knees straighten, land bent and never let them straighten behind you. ... your calves will relax then regardless of what shoes you wear
cabletow Apr 2012 6:50am, 30 Apr 2012 21,013 posts	0 cabletow Levering not leveling.. .damn predictive text
still running May 2012 11:48am, 1 May 2012 167 posts	0 still running Jay-Z I've suffered with this since doing first marathon in 2004 and I'm not sure how helpful this will be but for what it's worth, this is what I do (in addition to the excellent advice above). Like the peeps have said above, you need to really look after your calf in the recovery period. So no running, RICE, massage to prevent scar tissue (oh! this is just sooooo important) and then strengthening and stretching - gotta love those heel raises! In addition, I wear tubi-grip throughout the recovery period and have found that this really helps. I now manage to continue running by: 1.always warming my calf up for 20-30 mins prior to a run. I use a heat pad that I put in the microwave and then strap to my leg using a calf support. I don't know why, but this works for me and has got me through marathon training the last two years. 2. I always wear tubi-grip tripled or quadrupled up now (nice ;-)) and on long runs I wear compression socks as well. I used to wear a proper calf support and can definitely recommend that too. 3.Stretch after a run. An absolute must. Years ago I was a care-free runner.... I would think of going for a run and no sooner was it thought, I was out there doing it. Nowadays it's a bit of a longer process (a bit like when I first had a baby and it would take military organisation to get us out the door). It's not the same these days but it means I can run....you just need to adapt a bit and listen to your body. Good luck
jennywren May 2012 11:58am, 1 May 2012 10,018 posts	0 jennywren waves to Jay-Z Helloooo Listen to the knowledgable people on here and hope to see you in Edinburgh
Half Empty May 2012 12:50pm, 1 May 2012 289 posts	0 Half Empty I was suffering with calf pain for a while last year, made sure I stretched, iced, ibuprofen etc but didn't ease. Eventually went to see a physio and he identified that it was being caused by tight hip flexors and glutes. He worked on them and gave me some deep stretches and it cured the problem quite quickly. Trouble is there could be lots of different causes, just happens that this was the cause of mine. Are there any other physio's you could try for a second opinion? The first one I went to massagesd my calf and gave me calf stretches and strengthening exercises.