Hello,

Last week (3/30 I believe) I had a problem with my right calf at about the 2 mile mark of my run. Up until that point it felt fine, then all of a sudden ended up with a very sharp/burning pain (like a really bad muscle cramp). I was close to the end of my time so I tried to push through, but within 1-2 minutes it got to the point I had no choice but to stop. I had trouble walking on it for the next couple of days, but each day it felt a little better. I didn't end up running the rest of the week (including last Saturday) but by Monday (04/05) I felt like it was good enough to try again. I spent extra time stretching and walked for about 15 minutes first to make sure I was warm...ran for about a mile and felt fine, then all of a sudden the same pain hit...only worse this time. At this point I have to walk on the heel (the transfer of weight from my heel to my toe seems to be the biggest problem, if I stay on my heel only I can kind of limp around...but any weight on my toes makes the pain jump up). From the reading I have done it looks very similar to the symptoms of a "grade II medial gastrocnemius strain". I have been using the RICE protocol with ibuprofin but this time around it is not healing very quickly (I would say from Monday to today there has been zero improvement). I have an appointment scheduled with my primary doctor tomorrow, but I assume she will just hand it over to the physical therapy office. Unfortunately my insurance does not have Clearwater in network

I am not sure what my question is exactly, I just want to have as much info as possible to heal this so I don't fall too far behind. It looks like it could be a few weeks before running is an option, but maybe I will be able to ride the bike or something to keep building endurance? My mileage was already a little bit ahead of where the current schedule is so that may be working in my favor. My big goal has been Seattle RNR in June, so I am really hopeful this injury doesn't interfere.

Also, while the pain 'came out of nowhere' I am not convinced that this problem may not have been brewing for a bit. For the last couple of months I would say the right calf has felt a little tight...no pain or soreness, just a little tighter than the other muscles. I actually wore a calf sleeve during the Shamrock just to keep some warmth in it (thinking that may help).

Oh, and to complete the questions from the "what the doctors would like to know" thread...I have been running for ~1.5 years, I am 5'11 210, and have been wearing 10.5 Nike Lunardlides (my current pair has ~225 miles on them).

Thanks.

jnichols,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. A few more questions for you: What is your arch type (high, normal, flat)? What is your pace? Were you running on flat ground when the injury occurred, or hills? Do you have any arch supports in your running shoes?
It does sound like you may have strained the calf muscle. Usually the calf get injured to do a bio-mechanical flaw of the foot. Either the foot is not moving properly causing recruitment of the calf, or the body is not getting good neurological input (proprioceptive). Keep with the RICE protocol. Rest means little impact exercise (you may still be able to do swim, elliptical or spin). Ice is 15-20min of ice with 1 hour breaks for 2-3 cycles, especially after a workout. Compression and elevation is probably not as important after the first 3-7 days.
I will look for your response and maybe we can find some other treatments to mend this as fast as possible.
Cheers,
Dr Jake

Thanks for the response.

I believe I have normal arches and I do overpronate a bit (hence the Nike Lunarglides...I have ran Nike Equalons in the past but they seemed like a little too much cushioning). My normal training pace is around 8:30-9:00min/mile I would say. When the injury happened the first time I was actually on a treadmill, but when I tried the second time I was running on flat pavement. I am currently not wearing any special arch supports/inserts.

Do you think (once I am able to run again) I may need to have my stride analyzed to see if I am "not running correctly", or may need to get some sort of shoe insert?

I will continue with the RICE. My primary doc referred me to local PT that specializes in sports injuries...luckily close enough to my work that I can go during lunch time. First trip Monday, we will see what they say.

Thanks again.

How was your trip to the PT? Did they posted your cuboid bone of your foot?
Are you able to run with minimal pain yet?

I was curious about the arches because most calf injuries have to do with issues in the feet or ankles. Sometimes when people have pronation issues they are put into a motion control shoes that actually pushes them into supination which causes a shortening of the medial calf, thereby increasing the work load and chance for injury. If you think the shoes may be partly responsible try a more neutral shoe with some arch supports like Superfeet, or Biosoft. The medial gastroc is also partly responsible for the "ballistic toe-off". If you were striding out to far, increasing your toe-off, this muscle can become injured. Make sure to shorten your stride and land more toward mid-stance.

Dr Jake

Hello,

After doing the initial workup they have began doing astym on pretty much my whole right side. Apparently I have some scar tissue built up in the hip flexor and some other areas on top of the initial gastroc issue I was facing. Overall they seemed almost shocked with my muscle tightness, so that's not a good sign. On top of that they have me doing some roller/massage ball work at home which for now is pretty painful (although no pain on the left side, so I guess that goes to show there is a problem on the right).

They did have me run for a few minutes to analyze my stride using the dartfish software...the consensus is that I don't seem to have any real concerns in that area. Other than that I haven't really tried to run (but have been cycling)...I believe the idea is to have a couple more astym treatments and start slowly easing back into it.

No mention on the cuboid, but he did spend quite a bit of time doing the astym on my foot as well. I will ask about it my next appointment.

I will look into the arch supports. I am not too far off needing some new shoes anyway so might be a good time to back off the motion control shoes a little.

Thanks for the help.