Sudden Chronic Calf Cramping

"Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am a 48 year old male and have been a runner for over 30
years. I have been a runner, swimmer, fencer, etc... since
age 12. Symptoms I have had for over 15 years include:

The first time it happened was about 15 years ago when I
made a transistion from bike to run in aTriathlon. Since
then.... Usually it takes about 2-20 minutes of running
before the pain in my right calf suddenly rises to the
point where I can no longer continue. The pain is cramp-
like and I must walk. The pain goes away after a week rest
but comes back again during exercise. It does not bother
me walking, swimming, or biking. Just today, April 14,
2004, I went out to test it a week after receiving 3 ART
deep tissue massages. It cramped at mile 1! bummer!

What I've already done...
1. Tried every different pitch of foot placement.
2. Rested until there is no pain. (Done This for 10 years,
but whenever I start up again it hits - eventually, it
always comes back ...)
3. ART Deep Tissuse massge. and other massage
techniques(Tried for 2 years).
4. Seen two Docs. Nothing came of these visits One doc
does not think it is Chronic posterior compartment
syndrome because the calf muscle area is not "hard like
a rock" when it cramps.

Custom orthotics might solve your problem.

I suffered from something similar. The cramp would come on
suddenly within a few yards. At times came in or spread to
different parts of the calf muscle. It would clear up but
return at a later date. I tried everything but finally found
by changing from heel landing to front of foot landing
(bending over slightly to accentuate this) cleared it up and
have been free from complaint for over a year now.

Regards Phil

Mark said:

I am a 48 year old male and have been a runner for over 30
years. I have been a runner, swimmer, fencer, etc... since
age 12. Symptoms I have had for over 15 years include:

The first time it happened was about 15 years ago when I
made a transistion from bike to run in aTriathlon. Since
then.... Usually it takes about 2-20 minutes of running
before the pain in my right calf suddenly rises to the
point where I can no longer continue. The pain is cramp-
like and I must walk. The pain goes away after a week rest
but comes back again during exercise. It does not bother
me walking, swimming, or biking. Just today, April 14,
2004, I went out to test it a week after receiving 3 ART
deep tissue massages. It cramped at mile 1! bummer!

What I've already done...
1. Tried every different pitch of foot placement.
2. Rested until there is no pain. (Done This for 10 years,
but whenever I start up again it hits - eventually, it
always comes back ...)
3. ART Deep Tissuse massge. and other massage
techniques(Tried for 2 years).
4. Seen two Docs. Nothing came of these visits One doc
does not think it is Chronic posterior compartment
syndrome because the calf muscle area is not "hard like
a rock" when it cramps.

Considering your experience, I'm a bit sheepish about
making this suggestion. Your post did not mention any
dietary information. I too, had calf cramping trouble as a
high school athlete. Turns out I wasn't getting enough
potassium for my activity level. Daily consumption of
bananas, apples, oranges etc. took care of the problem.
Many years later, when I got back into regular excercise ,
I remembered this. I have yet to experience further
cramping. These days (I'm dating myself) almost all sports
drinks, bars, and supplements include potassium as an
electrolyte ingredient. Bet you have already thought of all
this, but just in case...

Mark wrote: (snip)

Quoted message said:

I am a 48 year old male and have been a runner for over 30
years. I have been a runner, swimmer, fencer, etc... since
age 12. Symptoms I have had for over 15 years include:

--
Random number generation is too vital a task to be left
to chance.

Quoted message said:

Sudden Chronic Calf Cramping

Are you sure it is "cramping" per se, or just feels like
cramping? Right now I'm dealing with a muscle tear in my
calf, and it FEELS like a cramp, but is not one. There is
something known as "chronic muscle tear" which will also
feel like cramping when it activates, but of course, it is
really the result of muscle tears. What I have seen
recommended for this chronic muscle tear thing is a sort of
cross-fiber friction therapy to break up the scar tissue of
the chronic muscle tear and relieve the symptoms. It is
supposed to be a somewhat painful therapy but brief, and
then the symptoms are supposed to be largely relieved. I am
not sure whether this is generally performed by a DC, an MD
or an RPT. Perhaps others could fill in the details, if this
seems like a possibility to you.

Mark said:

I am a 48 year old male and have been a runner for over 30
years. I have been a runner, swimmer, fencer, etc... since
age 12. Symptoms I have had for over 15 years include:

The first time it happened was about 15 years ago when I
made a transistion from bike to run in aTriathlon. Since
then.... Usually it takes about 2-20 minutes of running
before the pain in my right calf suddenly rises to the
point where I can no longer continue. The pain is cramp-
like and I must walk. The pain goes away after a week rest
but comes back again during exercise. It does not bother
me walking, swimming, or biking. Just today, April 14,
2004, I went out to test it a week after receiving 3 ART
deep tissue massages. It cramped at mile 1! bummer!

What I've already done...
1. Tried every different pitch of foot placement.
2. Rested until there is no pain. (Done This for 10 years,
but whenever I start up again it hits - eventually, it
always comes back ...)
3. ART Deep Tissuse massge. and other massage
techniques(Tried for 2 years).
4. Seen two Docs. Nothing came of these visits One doc
does not think it is Chronic posterior compartment
syndrome because the calf muscle area is not "hard like
a rock" when it cramps.

One thing others haven't suggested: have you tried taking
some time off running while you do strengthening
exercises for your calves. Something like single-foot
calf raises might help. I've been working through lesser
calf problems (soreness, mild tendonitis), and that's my
current plan of attack when I take 2 weeks off running
after my next 1/2 marathon.

--
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,ø¤º eNo "If you can't go fast, go long." ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°-
`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º

Quoted message said:

One doc does not think it is Chronic posterior compartment
syndrome because the calf muscle area is not "hard like a
rock" when it cramps.

Make sure the doctor has experience with actually
diagnosing and treating compartment syndrome. There is a
definitive, though not entirely pleasant, test for it. They
place a needle in the suspect compartment and place you on
a treadmill and run you until it starts to cramp while
measuring the pressure build-up. It's a frustrating
problem. I have a son who lost most of his hs running
career because specialized sports drs. couldn't figure out
what was going on. I finally made them test for it and
bingo. Good luck with it.

Paul