Calf troubles--advice?

Brian Jones <[email hidden]> writes:
: Hey all: About four weeks ago I started noticing some pain
: in my left Achilles tendon. I didn't really give it much
: thought, but when it didn't go away I started fiddling
: around with my calf, and discovered that it was very
: tight. I assumed that the Achilles problem, then resulted
: from the always-tight calf.

: I was surprised by this because I have not increased my
: mileage (nor intensity) by much this spring ( I am at 20+
: miles per week). No new shoes, no new form issues. But it
: is time to get on my horse, because I have an October
: marathon to think about.

: So I stared rolling my calf with a rolling pin, only to
: discover that it is very painful to do so. There is an
: area that is hard and painful to push on. It is on the
: inside and the upper half of the calf. I have been rolling
: it for days, and the Achilles seems better, but the calf
: is really hurting when I roll it. It even hurts some when
: walking.

: Am I doing the right things? Do I need to do more? I have
: also been taking ibuprofen.

: Brian Jones

I would suggest a yoga pose called alternate leg pulls.

Larry

Brian Jones said:

Hey all: About four weeks ago I started noticing some pain
in my left Achilles tendon. I didn't really give it much
thought, but when it didn't go away I started fiddling
around with my calf, and discovered that it was very
tight. I assumed that the Achilles problem, then resulted
from the always-tight calf.

Good job. That is very likely the case.

Quoted message said:

I was surprised by this because I have not increased my
mileage (nor intensity) by much this spring ( I am at 20+
miles per week). No new shoes, no new form issues. But it
is time to get on my horse, because I have an October
marathon to think about.

Oh, boy. Definitely fix this before you start pumping up
the mileage.

Quoted message said:

So I stared rolling my calf with a rolling pin, only to
discover that it is very painful to do so. There is an
area that is hard and painful to push on. It is on the
inside and the upper half of the calf. I have been rolling
it for days, and the Achilles seems better, but the calf
is really hurting when I roll it. It even hurts some when
walking.

The fact that it hurts when you roll it, though a momentary
bummer, means you found the source, so be encouraged by
that. The pain signals a knot in your calf, so definitely
keep working on it. Here are some things I do for my
troubled calves:

1) Roll, like you're doing, not just up and down the length
of the calf, but also side to side. Hard to describe
textually, but as I roll up and down, I make an
elliptical motion with the rolling device so that the
calf is also displaced from side to side. This will give
you added tension relief.

2) Alternate between rolling and running your fist up and
down the calf, searching for those painful areas. Also
squeeze the calf.

3) Do some AI stretching for the calves. Check out runnersworld.com0,1300,1 78 80Open ↗
567,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld , sections 9-11.

4) Do some strengthening exercises for your calves. A
trainer has recommended single-leg calf raises as a way
to both strengthen calves and develop those tiny
balancing muscles around your calf.

5) Take a week or two off from running, to do 1-4, and
aggressively work on icing your calves, say, when you're
watching TV.

6) Are you in the right shoes? You seem convinced you are,
but you may want to seek expert advice at a specialty
running shop where the staff (runners themselves) can
make some recommendations. Even if your shoes were right
at one point, body changes could mean that you need to
re-evaluate.

7) Is your running form causing the problem? This is a tough
one to assess, but the way you run (say, heel land and
slap the foot down) may be causing your troubles. If you
haven't already, shorten your stride and see how that
works for you.

Quoted message said:

Am I doing the right things? Do I need to do more? I have
also been taking ibuprofen.

I found anti-inflammatories to not really help with
recovering from calf injuries (though I've had some mixed
success with other injuries). For me, a supportive orthodic
seems to have done the trick, though I'm not entirely out
of the woods. Currently I'm working on a strengthening
regimen to once and for all get rid of the nagging aches
that remain.

--
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,-
,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

In article <[email hidden]>, Brian Jones

Quoted message said:

Hey all: About four weeks ago I started noticing some pain
in my left Achilles tendon. I didn't really give it much
thought, but when it didn't go away I started fiddling
around with my calf, and discovered that it was very
tight. I assumed that the Achilles problem, then resulted
from the always-tight calf.

I was surprised by this because I have not increased my
mileage (nor intensity) by much this spring ( I am at 20+
miles per week). No new shoes, no new form issues. But it
is time to get on my horse, because I have an October
marathon to think about.

So I stared rolling my calf with a rolling pin, only to
discover that it is very painful to do so. There is an
area that is hard and painful to push on. It is on the
inside and the upper half of the calf. I have been rolling
it for days, and the Achilles seems better, but the calf
is really hurting when I roll it. It even hurts some when
walking.

Am I doing the right things? Do I need to do more? I have
also been taking ibuprofen.

Brian Jones

From a previous post.

check out mindfulness.comof1.aspOpen ↗ to help massage
out the calf.

Ozzie

On my run last night, I stopped about 5 times on the circuit
I make to work out the calves. Two of the spots are: Gate
railing by Morley Field with the rail about 5 inches in
diameter. Then on the canyon bluff, a 4 inch tree trunk
about 20 feet long being used as a gate also. As Daniel
said, start with a bigger diameter rail.

When you do the calf on the railing, you should be able
to lift the leg on the railing up which means the leg
you're standing on is under your Center of Gravity and
there's no excess pressure on the calf on the railing.
See in the picture how the people are standing as they
massage out the calf.

Also, I don'start in the belly, I start just above the
tendon/muscle junction at the bottom of the calf and work up
the calf. I also down stretch the calf as I massage it, if I
understand you correctly. I let the foot relax and I don't
point the toe/foot towards the knee which stretches the
muscle fibers. At times I'll contract the calf muscles and
as I let the muscles relax, I allow the railing to go deeper
into the muscle.

If you find a railing that's of a good height, you may want
to massage the front shin. Face the railing, turn 45 degrees
to your right, and place the left shin on the railing (you
see the need to be able to place the shin depends on your
height and the height of the railing) and from the part of
the muscles closest to the ankle slide down the shin on the
railing slowly moving the foot up and down about an inch as
if as you slid down the up and down of the foot is like a
rachet and lightly contracts and lets the shin muscle go.

I can like the calf also massage out the hamstring. Put the
ham over the rail just behind the knee. Allow the lower leg
to swing back and forth about two inches. Everytime is swing
forward it should pull the hamstring forward a little -
feeling is like the skin is catching but then sliding.

The other way for the hamstring is roll the hamstring from
side to side as you slide down the hamstring. Rest a hand on
the knee and you go from side to side. The foot should stay
hanging in the middle as the knee moves slightly from side
to side. Don't use the foot as the pendulum as you go from
side to side on the hamstring. It can torque the knee and
cause problems in the joint.

As I said, Keep asking questions as it helps me and people
like Daniel explain it more clearly. I'm compiling and
reediting and refining to make it clearer...and with
pictures, it will be much easier to explain.

In article <[email hidden]>, eNo
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Brian,

Eno has laid out a great list of things to think about and
do regarding your calves.

Also the calves may be tight because the shins aren't
letting go.

In health and on the run,

Ozzie Gontang Maintainer - rec.running FAQ faqs.orgbyOpen ↗
newsgroup/rec/rec.running.html Director, San Diego Marathon
Clinic, est. 1975

Mindful Running mindfulness.commr.aspOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

So I stared rolling my calf with a rolling pin, only to
discover that it is very painful to do so. There is an
area that is hard and painful to push on. It is on the
inside and the upper half of the calf. I have been rolling
it for days, and the Achilles seems better, but the calf
is really hurting when I roll it. It even hurts some when
walking.

I'm not an expert and this is just based on my experience,
readings, etc. but it sounds like you found the source of
your problem. That spot that is painful when you press on it
is called a "trigger point." The muscle fibers in this spot
are stuck in a contracted state. If you knead your calf
after using massage oil (or any lotion, vegetable oil, etc.
that make the skin slippery) you will probably notice that
the painful area feels lumpy to the touch (this is easier
for another person to do because it can be a bit painful to
do it yourself and that makes it harder.)

Concentrate on rolling over the trigger point slowly and
also try putting steady pressure directly on it for 20
seconds or so at a time. Yeah it's painful (but you'll come
to see the pain as a GOOD thing because it only lasts a few
seconds and pain signals you found the spot and are about to
fix it), but press as hard as you can (within reason of
course) up to your pain tolerance. It may take several
tries, but you should notice an immediate reduction in the
trigger point.

Using the rolling pin, foam roller etc. in this way makes a
big difference, but you'll probably find that it may still
leave a small spot or spots. You can zero on these by
pressing with your thumb (although with the amount of
pressure you often need this is hard on your thumb, so I'd
recommend getting one of the many relatively inexpensive
trigger point tools available, like the Knobble.)

After the trigger point is released, your calf should feel
normal again. BUT it's possible that the trigger point may
return within a day or two. If that's the case you will need
to find what is causing it to form in the first place. The
source of trigger points is a matter of controversy but it's
likely that the trigger point formed as a result of the
muscle being overloaded or subjected to trauma. Could be
"too much, too soon" or something wrong with your gait due
to other problems, footwear, etc.

Trigger points will often go away on their own with rest
and time, but I suspect that trigger points sometimes
create a vicious cycle (especially in the calves) where
they exacerbate changes in gait that helps keep the trigger
point in place.

Getting rid of a trigger point is relatively trivial, but
determining what is causing it to form can be a lot harder.

Let me know if you have any questions about this.

Lots of excellent advice in eNo's post.

I just thought I'd add that in my opinion it's a bad idea to
do much stretching if the calf is still tight (it'already
stretched at this point and you risk overstressing it) So
take a few minutes, put up with the discomfort, and
roll/massage out the knot first. Ditto re doing
strengthening exercises.

Chris J said:

Lots of excellent advice in eNo's post.

I just thought I'd add that in my opinion it's a bad idea
to do much stretching if the calf is still tight
(it'already stretched at this point and you risk
overstressing it) So take a few minutes, put up with the
discomfort, and roll/massage out the knot first. Ditto re
doing strengthening exercises.

I agree: never stretch an injury. But note that I
recommended AI stretching, which does not hold stretches
beyond 2 seconds and therefore does not cause the reactive
contraction that a normal, protracted stretch would. Still,
safer to treat the calf for a few days before doing any
stretching.

--
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,-
,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