login
calf strain?
-
No new posts
 2010-05-24 9:16 PM |
Master  1770     Bedford, MA |  Subject: calf strain?Last weekend I went for a long run (11 miles) and felt my right calf tighten a bit - a little pain and it was sore after I stopped, but not to the point that I was limping. I took a week off from running and did a short brick this past weekend (20 mile bike and a 5k), and I ended up only running 2 miles because I could feel a little tightness in the calf and didn't want it to get any worse. I have a half marathon next weekend (6 days away), and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas to try to help out. I'm definitely not going to run before then. I have 'the stick' and have been using that to massage the calf, but it's more of a deep tissue pain. Any ideas would be appreciated. Edited by natethomas2000 2010-05-24 9:16 PM |
| 2010-05-24 10:50 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
Regular 72 Central MN | Subject: RE: calf strain? I think that I had a similar issue - look for my post "the stick" from last week, but I didn't stop running until the pain was pretty bad - stupid, I know. I'm about 10 days out from the injury and almost all of the pain is gone - ran two 8 minute intervals at a slow speed this a.m. without any pain. When I first hurt it, I started to massage it two to three times daily with the stick - no stretching or running until about 5 days out from the injury. I also started taking 800 mg (4 tablets) of ibuprofen 3 times each day for the first 5 days. Now down to 400 mg of ibuprofen once daily. For the last 5 days, I have been stretching 4 to 5 times/day. Talked to an athletic trainer who says its better to "gently" stretch frequently (5x/day) than to stretch too hard only 1-2x/day. So far, so good - I've got a duathlon this weekend - total of 10k of running, so hope that I can keep extending my runs over the next couple of days. Good luck to you. |
| 2010-05-24 10:54 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
Elite 4547 | Subject: RE: calf strain? You can still cycle...adjusting your foot placement on the pedal can decrease the strain on your calf. Move the pedal's contact with your foot back towards the heel. You can also lower the seat a little as well. Sorry, I'm dealing with exactly the same injury right now. Friggin blows! You're not alone. Ice, stretch, massage, safe activities like swimming and modified cycling. Six days away...damn.  I strained my calf 9 days before a sprint last September...I didn't run between the injury and the sprint...I gutted out the run after re-pulling the damn thing just after coming out of T2. I was so pizzed. It took another 3 weeks to get back to running without pain. Hopefully you didn't hurt yours like I hurt mine. Good luck. |
| 2010-05-25 7:51 AM in reply to: #2879729 |
Veteran 1097 Elizabethtown, KY | Subject: RE: calf strain? The most common mistake people make (myself included) is underestimating a "strain". The terminology itself leads to that . . . a strain or a pull . . . is a TEAR. Depending on the severity, doctors will recommend anywhere from SIX weeks off to surgery. What often happens is that athletes come back too fast from such an injury, increasing the likelihood of reinjury. The sports medicine doc I saw said that over time, this can lead to CHRONIC pain, inflammation, and injury. As somone else mentioned, non-aggravating activities can be continued. When I strained my soleus (calf) muscle last year, my running went to pot, but my biking and swimming sure picked up. |
| 2010-05-25 11:26 AM in reply to: #2879729 |
Veteran 355 Lakewood Ranch, Florida | Subject: RE: calf strain? I am dealing with this same strain as we speak... uugh i hate injuries...i have to research "the stick " as i do not know what that is. I first pulled my calf about 3 weeks ago, iced and light stretching for 2 weeks, thursday and friday i ran a 5k on the treadmill, no problems at all, no pain, nothing. Itake the weekend off from running and monday morning go out for a 3 mile easy run, at the 2 mile mark it tightens up to the point i cannot even think of running on it, i gimped the 1 mile home and iced it, still painful today. I have a sprint in 2 weeks not planning on running at all till then. Can the streets cause it since there was no pain on treadmill ?? |
| 2010-05-25 1:08 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
| 6 | Subject: RE: calf strain? I have had calf problems since December. I finally met with an ortho who recommended a good arch support to prevent over-pronation of my feet. Initially it worked on a treadmill but recently I have tweaked my calves at various times between the one mile and two mile mark. I tweaked my calves on the treadmill and running outside, it doesn't matter for me. I have been stretching, calf strengthening exercises and taking weeks off at a time and I am ready to go crazy with this problem. I have an appt with Dr Kremchek's assistant this afternoon and hope to figure this thing out. My goal was to do my first tri on June 20 and I'm not sure that I can run. I am open to any suggestions. |
| 2010-05-26 6:57 AM in reply to: #2880747 |
Veteran 1097 Elizabethtown, KY | Subject: RE: calf strain? Luby162 - 2010-05-25 12:26 PM I am dealing with this same strain as we speak... uugh i hate injuries...i have to research "the stick " as i do not know what that is. I first pulled my calf about 3 weeks ago, iced and light stretching for 2 weeks, thursday and friday i ran a 5k on the treadmill, no problems at all, no pain, nothing. Itake the weekend off from running and monday morning go out for a 3 mile easy run, at the 2 mile mark it tightens up to the point i cannot even think of running on it, i gimped the 1 mile home and iced it, still painful today. I have a sprint in 2 weeks not planning on running at all till then. Can the streets cause it since there was no pain on treadmill ?? Possibly, if your form is slightly different (such as using more of your quads on the treadmill). That said, a doctor would have you OFF running altogether for a minimum period greater than 4 weeks. You can't train through a calf tear. |
| 2010-05-26 7:05 AM in reply to: #2881033 |
Veteran 1097 Elizabethtown, KY | Subject: RE: calf strain? jperiatt - 2010-05-25 2:08 PM I have had calf problems since December. I finally met with an ortho who recommended a good arch support to prevent over-pronation of my feet. Initially it worked on a treadmill but recently I have tweaked my calves at various times between the one mile and two mile mark. I tweaked my calves on the treadmill and running outside, it doesn't matter for me. I have been stretching, calf strengthening exercises and taking weeks off at a time and I am ready to go crazy with this problem. I have an appt with Dr Kremchek's assistant this afternoon and hope to figure this thing out. My goal was to do my first tri on June 20 and I'm not sure that I can run. I am open to any suggestions. If you have to do the race, I would not run at all prior to it and just hope that adrenaline will get you through, understanding you may still be injured and forced to walk it in.
Looking at your logs, you don't have much volume, and that's okay, but understand that injuries happen more frequently as you increase frequency or volume, particularly in the beginning. |
| 2010-05-26 11:19 AM in reply to: #2882502 |
| 6 | Subject: RE: calf strain? I had a 3 week stretch where I was unable to train at all due to a severe case of allergies, had to use an inhaler, didn't sleep, etc... that stretch killed me. I have been training since December and the calf issue has always been there. I am scheduled for a MRI on Tues and will have the results back by the end of the week. The MRI results will determine if a tri will happen in June, my mindset has always been do it in June regardless but if it is delayed a month or so until I have a clear idea of the issues and how to resolve them, that would be best. In the meantime I will continue to swim and bike. Hopefully I will be able to pick up the volume of my running to complete a tri. Thanks for your input. |
| 2010-05-26 12:07 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
| 5 | Subject: RE: calf strain? Going thru same deal as all you guys. I've found some relief/comfort in wearing a calf compression sleeve. It seems to help. I think I'm gonna wear them on each calf for all future training. I can't see any downside. Nate, if you are gonna race, I'd put a calf sleeve on in T1 and ride and run with it. I did this for a sprint 4 weeks ago, did ok. Good call about not running until race day. Good luck! |
| 2010-05-27 6:09 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
| New user 2 | Subject: RE: calf strain? A few weeks ago I was stretching and rolling my left calf with the stick. I found a pretty big lump on my left calf, towards the inside about 6 inches up. I worked on it with the stick-ouch and continued to massage it for a couple of weeks. The lump seemed to break up a bit but there was some bruising. Wierd thing was that there was zero pain when running/biking/swimming. It was only tender to touch and press on. It was very painful if I really put pressure on the area. I was assuming it was a calf strain so i cut back on running. It is still a bit tender when I roll it but otherwise hasnt bothered me. Can you have no pain when running with a calf strain? Should I not be running on it at all? TIA |
| 2010-05-28 9:23 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
Master 1770 Bedford, MA | Subject: RE: calf strain? The calf is feeling pretty good - I'm planning on going for a light ride tomorrow to stretch the calf. Haven't run since Sunday of last week. We'll see how the half goes on Sunday. My goal is to go under 1:35, but the calf may bring that time up a bit. |
| 2010-05-29 11:46 AM in reply to: #2879729 |
Veteran 355 Lakewood Ranch, Florida | Subject: RE: calf strain? I am going to get a calf sleeve and see how that works for me, still in pain an definetely cannot run as of yet, no pain during the swim though |
| 2010-05-29 6:17 PM in reply to: #2879729 |
Elite 4547 | Subject: RE: calf strain? All you fellow strained calfers better be swimming and biking too! I've had a personal record month of swimming and just about there biking. That's the beauty of triathlon...there's almost always something we can be doing to get better. I love this sport.  |
| 2010-05-30 11:20 AM in reply to: #2879729 |
Master 1770 Bedford, MA | Subject: RE: calf strain? Well, the race is over and the calf wasn't much of an issue. I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. My right calf began to get a bit tight around mile 2-3 and I thought it would keep getting worse, but by mile 6 it seemed fine. I didn't quite get the time that I wanted, but I still set a PR. I finished in just over 1:38, good for 261 out of about 5000 runners and 70th in my age group. Here's a photo of my wife and I when we got home:  |
| 2010-05-30 2:31 PM in reply to: #2890947 |
Elite 4547 | Subject: RE: calf strain? natethomas2000 - 2010-05-30 12:20 PM Well, the race is over and the calf wasn't much of an issue. I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. My right calf began to get a bit tight around mile 2-3 and I thought it would keep getting worse, but by mile 6 it seemed fine. I didn't quite get the time that I wanted, but I still set a PR. I finished in just over 1:38, good for 261 out of about 5000 runners and 70th in my age group. Here's a photo of my wife and I when we got home: A PR AND a beautiful wife. Congrats man!!! |
|
|
|
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK