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Calf pain after half marathon

P

perry

So I don't flood the daily workout thread..

Around mile 10 of my half marathon yesterday I developed a pain in my left calf. I stopped to stretch for a few seconds but it didn't help. Around mile 12 I felt like I was limping along. I definitely limped back to the car (someone said something to me about it..) and each press of the clutch on the way home was painful.

Cold pack, Icy Hot, Ace bandage for compression, elevation... I bought a foam roller this morning and rolled around on it a few times, and have done wall pushups. The pain has gotten less acute, and I can at least walk normally now but there is still pain. I've spent most of today on the couch and recliner.

Here is a pic showing where the pain is centered. Kind of on the inside side of the calf. I found a foam roller exercise to target that area.. What else to do? I saw a massage stick at the store for $30 but held off on buying it.

I have another half marathon in Las Vegas on December 5...
 
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RaisingTheBar

RaisingTheBar

I assume thats your left leg in the pic. I developed the same/similar pain point from running, isolated calf work, and well burying my squats. first thing you can try is get a ball of some sort(I'd start with a tennis ball to get the trigger point activated and for someone newer to working with trigger points.) and work it up and down that point in the leg. Start light and let the muscle warm up and gradually add pressure. You may feel the muscle relax and give some but it'll probably take a while before it really lets go. Just keep stretching it and running it over with a ball a couple times a day and see if that relieves it. If not you may need to go get a masseuse to work out the knots.

Also I would highly recommend the stick, esp for runners as foam rolling I find is a bit limited, hard to get your calves with a foam roller and the stick is easier to regulate how much pressure you would like to apply. It's great for loosening up the Hamstrings and Hip Flexors.
 
P

perry

How useful are those compression sleeves? Think it'd be helpful to wear one when I get back to running and/or during the day?
 
azmark

azmark

Likely it's from lack of hydration, not during but prior.

But to get to the pain part. The Stick will work but all that stick is doing is increasing blood flow which is one of the most important things to do when any soreness sets in. I would ice or heat anything at this point but keep your feet up and get a good massage in. NO DEEP TISSUE! Just a sports massage or have your spouse or yourself rub your legs to kick up your recovery.

Congratulations on your race :thumbup1:
 
RaisingTheBar

RaisingTheBar

perry said:
How useful are those compression sleeves? Think it'd be helpful to wear one when I get back to running and/or during the day?
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Rehband makes some really good products that might help. It will keep the muscles warm allowing blood to clear out some of the build up plus keep pressure on it relieving some pain. Some anti inflammatory's like ibuprofen would help as well.
 
S

SRock

Sounds to me like a good old fashioned muscle strain and I agree with Mark a lack of hydration is likely a contributing factor.

Hang in there.
 
P

perry

Interesting. I tried to pay attention to how much water I was drinking leading up to the race but I suppose it wasn't enough. I stopped and bought some tennis balls on the way in to work this morning so I can massage my leg throughout the day. Would trying to walk a mile or so on the treadmill, through the pain, be a bad idea?
 
azmark

azmark

perry said:
Interesting. I tried to pay attention to how much water I was drinking leading up to the race but I suppose it wasn't enough. I stopped and bought some tennis balls on the way in to work this morning so I can massage my leg throughout the day. Would trying to walk a mile or so on the treadmill, through the pain, be a bad idea?
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A nice walk sure helps most soreness. If you feel sore today thought I'd skip the walk since you're going to be sitting all day. Keep your chair set so your knees are slightly higher than your hips. Helps with pressure on your lower legs and helps to keep your feet from swelling.
 
S

SRock

perry said:
Interesting. I tried to pay attention to how much water I was drinking leading up to the race but I suppose it wasn't enough. I stopped and bought some tennis balls on the way in to work this morning so I can massage my leg throughout the day. Would trying to walk a mile or so on the treadmill, through the pain, be a bad idea?
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I wouldn't try that, nor would I plan on working out on it for a couple of days. I'd stick to the massage and taking it easy (though not abnormally easy) for at least 48hrs or so and then assess from there.
 
S

SRock

azmark said:
A nice walk sure helps most soreness. If you feel sore today though I'd skip the walk since you're going to be sitting all day. Keep your chair set so your knees are slightly higher than your hips. Helps with pressure on your lower legs and helps to keep your feet from swelling.
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+1 a nice walk will probably be a good idea in another day or two.
 
P

perry

So I'm almost ready to declare the tennis ball as the greatest invention ever. I can already tell that it is helping quite a bit. Neato ;)
 
RaisingTheBar

RaisingTheBar

perry said:
Interesting. I tried to pay attention to how much water I was drinking leading up to the race but I suppose it wasn't enough. I stopped and bought some tennis balls on the way in to work this morning so I can massage my leg throughout the day. Would trying to walk a mile or so on the treadmill, through the pain, be a bad idea?
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*shrug* it's what I do. walk on an incline and try to get a little stretch out of your calves each step. Might be getting enough water but is your sodium/potassium intake high enough? you can take in all the water you want in the world but it doesn't hang on to it if your sodium intake is too low. That usually leads to muscle cramps though.

I'm not much of an expert(or even a novice hah) on running but have you changed your style at all? I know since I was a kid I've done the whole forefoot striking thing and now I still do it and it really tires out my calves leading up to a cramp. I know my masseuse has told me injuries like that are generally marked as an over use injury where your muscle doesn't have the chance to flush out the lactic acid and other toxins and it stays locked in a flexed position causing stiffness and eventually pain.

After you get this resolved I would suggest really focusing on stretching from head to toe and really working on some ankle mobility. Cause it sucks when a muscle over use injury turns into a muscle tear injury :p
 
TimmyBoston

TimmyBoston

My calves cramped up, but I think it was just because they weren't up to 13 miles of midsole striking. I was able to walk a slow 2 miles with my dog last night.
 
urkel

urkel

walking is the best recovery after i do a longish run and now i'm onto a tennis ball routine. thanks guys
 
RaisingTheBar

RaisingTheBar

TimmyBoston said:
My calves cramped up, but I think it was just because they weren't up to 13 miles of midsole striking. I was able to walk a slow 2 miles with my dog last night.
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If your calf is "locked up" as in you can physically feel it cramped and tensed up I'd suggest running a bath as hot as you can handle and sit in it for 20 mintues. That should loosen up the muscle a little. Also a good thing to try after long runs might be a Contrast Shower. I find they do wonders to reduce DOMS and aid in recovery.

Also a good idea to help release the calves would be to take a ball(golf ball works best) put it on the floor and gradually run your foot up and down it to massage out the muscles in your arch.
 
P

perry

I'd say that I'm back to like 50 - 60% or so. Still pain and stiffness, but I can pretty much walk normally. I may try to run a mile or so on Wednesday if I keep improving. :thumbup1:
 
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