climbing and calf injuries

[Sol]

so, i think i hurt my flexor digitorum longus. i'ts been acting up for about a month now. Basically, the day after climbing it feels like I have a big knot in my calf, its tender to the touch on the interior side just above the apex of my calf muscle,it hurts going down stairs, and while straightening my leg with pressure on it. originally it only happened while climbing at slabby ass squamish,but now it doesn't really matter where i've been climbing. in the past it seems to go away in about a week, but its never hurt this bad, and I am skeptical about it disapearing anytime soon. as this muscle controls the movements of your big toe it makes sense that it could become over-developed/injured through climbing. anyone have a similar injury/experience? should i try to limit walking on it? i am icing, using arnica, drinking water, etc. anything else I should be focusing on? thanks in advance for any information.

[G-spotter]

what if you just campus up jughauls and don't use your feet?

 

switch to a stiffer shoe, like a board lasted shoe?

 

does it hurt when you hike or just when you are climbing?

[layton]

Yo. The flexor hallicus longus is your big toe flexor, not FDL.

 

Regardless, it could be several things, including a grade I muscle strain, or a big ol trigger point. Whoever checks it out needs to palpate it, muscle test and legnth test your gastroc, soleus, FHL and FDL.

 

If so and it's healing, stretching, compression of the knot (trigger point therapy), and pin and stretch (pinch the muscles while stretching it) are usefull. Heat, ultrasound, a foot/shoe/leg biomechanical eval, are other ideas if it doesn't resolve.

 

Hydration is key as are a lot of other things I wish i had time to help with but my girlfriend is callng me to dinner. good luck. if you were in PDX i'd see you at the clinic.

[catbirdseat]

There was a climber named Hans Kraus who used to do trigger point therapy (same guy who put up High Exposure). This consisted of palpating the trigger point and then breaking it up by jabbing it repeatedly with a large gauge needle. Ouch. They say that guy worked wonders though. He was JFK's real back doctor.

[Sol]

what if you just campus up jughauls and don't use your feet?

 

switch to a stiffer shoe, like a board lasted shoe?

 

does it hurt when you hike or just when you are climbing?

 

still able to jug haul with one foot and lift weights so i'm not totally bumming. it actually feels a bit better this morning. it does not hurt when i climb at all. it hurts the day after I climb slabby and/or desperate terrain. it could have nothing to do with my toes. like mike said maybe its a muscle tear, i had been thrutching up an offwidth via a calf jam at index the day before. but like i said i've felt this pain a few times in the last month and its starting to get that chronic feeling. what's up with tendonitis or tendovaginitis in the calve. any thoughts on imbalances in the legs due to climbing, as well as complementary excercises? thanks for the info dru and mike. cbs your comment is ....

[catbirdseat]

Check it out. Myotherapy doesn't involved needles.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Kraus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Prudden

http://www.bonnieprudden.com/

 

There are local massage therapists who know about Myotherapy.

 

http://www.sacdt.com/downtown/programs/therapists.html

[layton]

don't do myotherapy, it's not necessary. Trigger point therapy hardly ever involves needles. It's a fancy way of saying press on the lump to squeeze out the blood and try to get the muscle to relax (basically).

 

if you tore some muscle, inflammed the tendon or tendon sheath, or even bruised it --the effect is the same, it's inflammed and creating pain. yes, improper gait, leg legnth inequality (functional or anatomical), or muscle imbalance could be causing it. or you just pulled it by doing something too foreful.

 

i'm assuming there was never any direct trauma?

[Sol]

There was a climber named Hans Kraus who used to do trigger point therapy (same guy who put up High Exposure). This consisted of palpating the trigger point and then breaking it up by jabbing it repeatedly with a large gauge needle. Ouch. They say that guy worked wonders though. He was JFK's real back doctor.

 

Cbs, i know what myotherapy is. if i wanted to discuss it i proabaly would've mentioned it somewhere in my post. thanks for all the links and bullshit but all i care about is the injury to my calf.

 

michael: no trauma or blow to the calf.

[layton]

sounds like the repetitive microtraumo to your calf from lots of hiking and climber tore some small muscle fibers, the and the muscle is locally splinting. Heat, stretch, squeeze, stretch. After that works the knot out, you might want to work on flexibility of your calf (stretch it often) and make sure there are no small muscle imbalances (like a weaker tib ant, peron long), your gait is normal (pronator/supinator), and your shoes are correct for you. Sure everyone can benefit from muscle balance, gait correction, posture, nutrition/supplements etc etc etc...it can only help->BUT, i bet this is more like a one time thing that should resolve itself.

 

If it gets worse or doesn't go away you should get it looked at by someone YOU think would be the best person for the job...be it your family doc, a massage therapist, a PT, or even one of us chiropractors.

[Sol]

thanks for the info