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Pulled calf muscle

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bigleggy May 2016 1:02pm, 5 May 2016 5,748 posts	Quote Pin bigleggy Thanks LM , me too and I hope you recover soon
larkim May 2016 3:58pm, 5 May 2016 728 posts	Quote Pin larkim I thought heel drops were for stretching and strengthening achilles, whereas heel raises were better for strengthening calf muscles?
z1000jeff May 2016 4:14pm, 5 May 2016 2,503 posts	Quote Pin z1000jeff I had exactly the same. Took six weeks to heel (of course, I'm an older gentleman) and even now I feel I could aggravate it if I pushed too hard (hence very slow pace recently). That said, despite advice to the contrary, I've been stretching it gently before runs and it feels like it's getting there. I hope you're OK soon and quicker than me.
drj May 2016 4:38pm, 5 May 2016 17 posts	Quote Pin drj Might help ... I bought some of this hard spikey balls and massaged my calf ... also rub some Tiger Balm in at night. In theory it speeds recovery and it felt like it did to me :-). I think strained and therefore muscle knotted and tight and sore rather than an actual tear for me.
Cuddy May 2016 8:31pm, 5 May 2016 4,662 posts	Quote Pin Cuddy Don't be surprised if it takes a long time for you to gain the calf muscle back, mine atrophied with a minor pull and took over 6 months to gain the muscle back, till that I was even visually lopsided.
Fragile Do Not Bend May 2016 10:37pm, 5 May 2016 792 posts	Quote Pin Fragile Do Not Bend Ruddy calf muscles. I probably didn't have a proper tear as I could hobble along on my injury but it hurt a lot, felt like being stabbed in the calf by something small but very sharp. After a few weeks trying to soldier on with it, I ended up having 2 months off running and did a lot of spin classes instead. My sports therapist had me doing a lot of calf raises and another exercise where you put a resistance band under the ball of the foot (whilst seated) and move the foot up & down at the ankle joint.
Little Nemo - this kitten can May 2016 8:28am, 6 May 2016 6,191 posts	Quote Pin Little Nemo - this kitten can Seems like it's a common problem! I've booked a physio appointment for Monday and I've decided that I can't bear to wait for buses so I'm walking to and from the station again. I'll take it easy over the weekend but I'm sure that some gentle walking isn't going to make it that much worse. I have a spiky roller so if she suggests that as part of my rehab I'll give it a go prepares for pain
SooWoo May 2016 12:23pm, 6 May 2016 126 posts	Quote Pin SooWoo mine went 16 miles into a 33mile race (6 weeks before VLM), I knew it was pretty bad so pulled out. Saw a physio a few days later as I was worried, he confirmed it wasn't torn and did massage and dry-needle acupuncture on it (very weird seeing your calf muscle twitching with needles sticking out!!) He said it could hurt more for next 24 hours... it definitely did!!) I think I tried running a bit too soon as i felt it go again a few days later. Had more needles and ultrasound and decided I would take two weeks off to rest it properly (I was still hoping to do VLM). Two weeks became three as I had laryngitis the week before VLM so I took it as a sign to rest calf another week! Calf survived VLM even without the six weeks training. I think the moral of my story is I should have done the two weeks resting straight away after the injury but I know how easy it is to say that is now. The main exercise the Physio gave me for strengthening was raising up and down on tip-toes... doing it on both feet when when I couldn't manage it on oen-leg at the start. Even up on two feet and down on one foot is supposed to be very good. Good luck everyone
Little Nemo - this kitten can May 2016 8:42am, 10 May 2016 6,192 posts	Quote Pin Little Nemo - this kitten can Had my physio yesterday. It lasted an hour and I got ultra-sound, some electrical thing that made it tingle and some not-too-painful massaging. She could feel some lumpy bits where there is some scarring/adhesion but it's only a small patch and everything else is OK. So now I have some stretches and calf raises to do and I'll go back to see her in 2 weeks. No running in the meantime and she wants to see the shoes I'll be using as well to check those out. I think I'm going to jettison the new style I got and get a new pair of my normal ones instead. It's feeling better so that's good news I suppose the positive thing is that I wasn't training for anything. Imagine if I'd been doing London, I would have been devastated to get this injury 2 weeks out. And even worse if it had happened mid-race. You must have been thrilled to get through VLM in one piece SooWoo!
tonyp2604 Jul 2016 5:59pm, 24 Jul 2016 437 posts	Quote Pin tonyp2604 Never had issues with calf muscles during nearly 10 years of running. Then about 10 days ago right calf felt very suspect after an 11 mile run. Left it a few days then went out and did 2.5 miles no problem; left another two days and then attempted 5 miles - after 4 calf was feeling sore again. I have been stretching and doing some rolling as well. Does this sound typical. Have not run since Friday and am leaving it a bit longer to recover. I think I might go and give it another try out on Wednesday. What do people think. I am supposed to be training for a marathon in October. I am not too concerned at the moment as it is not "training from scratch" so 10-11 weeks should be ok.