strained calf?

[dbconlin]

I injured my calf last year doing too many heel raises after being kind of out of shape. I thought I had recovered fully from this but just last weekend I was ice climbing and my calves (both) got quite sore. I didn't think too much of it, but as one of my calves recovered in the normal time, the previously injured one did not. Now I have the feeling of kind of a knot on the outside edge of my calf.

 

Any suggestions what I can do to recover and prevent reinjuring it yet again?

[layton]

if it was my problem, this is what I'd do...

stretch it, and your hamstrings for at least 2 minutes, 3x day = minimum 6 minutes a day

get it massaged and trigger points worked out

stop doing heel raises, if you climb in the PNW, you don't need to do heel raises

stand on a wobble board

instead do the opposite, forefoot raises with tubing or a barbell weight on your shoe.

maybe insert a heel lift on both shoes

night splint in a dorsiflexed position would be a hardcore option

have your knee and foot adjusted

drink more water

get more vitamins and electrolytes in your diet

[NYC007]

before you stretch you may want to warm up your calf, otherwise may eventually effect your achilles. What time of soreness? my calfs always feel the moderate ice. Depending on what access you have to a mess. therap. if you can find on or a PT which can do Myofacial release, this would help quite a bit. PAINFUL but will help.

[dbconlin]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

One q re: Layton. You said "stop doing heel raises, if you climb in the PNW, you don't need to do heel raises." Well, I actually haven't done heel raises since first injuring it about 8 months ago. But I thought it might be good to start again (after recovering), but increase gradually, rather than what I did the first time which caused the injury in the first place. But you say no, correct? How does climbing in the PNW differ from anywhere else? If I climbed elsewhere would you recommend I do do them?

 

Incidentally, I do stretch my calves regularly, after a workout (weights or biking/skate skiing) and sometimes also after a day in the hills. So I will definitely continue to do this. I am interested in taking your advice doing forefoot raises. Care to comment on why this might help?

 

Thanks, again!

 

Dave

[dbconlin]

One more thing, how careful should I be about going out and climbing again?

[layton]

1st, if you're worried, go see a PT,MD,DC,massage therapist, someone...The suggestion I gave are for what I would do in your case, and I'm not saying you should perform anything I mentioned.

 

I made that comment about calf raises and the PNW because we all slog uphill so much, that these muscles are probably overdeveloped in relation to other muscles, like the tibialis anterior, which is strengthen by forefoot raises.

I gots to go and may not check in for a bit, but the general exercise is the raise your foot off the ground with the heel still in contact. you can but a dumbell over your toes to get some extra resistance.

 

as for climbing, just be aware if your calves are getting sore/tight, and take the time to stretch and and put yourself in a position when you are 1/2 through a lead or hike out when this occurs so you don't aggrevate it.

 

maybe your calves are weak and are in pain b/c they are over-taxed...in that case calf raises are the ticket.

[ericb]

before you stretch you may want to warm up your calf, otherwise may eventually effect your achilles. What time of soreness? my calfs always feel the moderate ice. Depending on what access you have to a mess. therap. if you can find on or a PT which can do Myofacial release, this would help quite a bit. PAINFUL but will help.

 

Qualifier.....not a medical type whatsoever, but for muscle knots, I'm a big fan of the foam roller - "self myofacial release" - cheaper than PT and easy to do at home i.e. frequently. By a foam tube, throw it on the floor, and roll back and forth over the knot. I used it with great success with my IT bands. I use it on my upper/lower back, hammys, calves, hip flexors....etc.

[NYC007]

those foam rollers are the ticket, cheap too. I forgot about those. good call

[tthirloway]

Be careful with that. Last winter my calves got really sore after running too much, I ignored it and ended up with an achilles injury for several months. Still not sure what it was, but it was a bitch to get over. Even during the more painful stages of the injury I was still able to climb/hike with my boots on even when I wasn't able to run or even walk long distances normally.

I have a feeling that with rest and stretching I would have been able to avoid it.

[brukb]

Here's a few things to think about from a climber and physical therapist specializing in treating endurance athletes and climbers;

"calf" is a gross anatomical term referring to the back of the lower leg, not any specifici muscle(s). From your description it is most likely the gastrocnemius, soleus or peroneals, maybe even hamstring insertion, or a combination of those. Determining which structure is injured dictates the most appropriat rehab or treatment.

You may have some residual, isolated weakness in muscle, tendon and/or fascial tissue from the original strain that needs to be addressed to facilitate full recovery, again identifying the damaged structure dictates treatment. Myofascial work is probably a good idea, but start with easy sessions until you know your healing tissues are up to more vigorous work.

I would have to disagree with idea of foregoing calf raises for northwest climbers. Basically all climbers need strong calf muscles. The type of climbing you do should also dictate the kind of calf work to focus on, examples; if you only do hard sport routes on rock or ice then you should focus on a variety of static, weightbearing ankle positions with your foot on a stable surface using dynamic arm movements against resistance, and core engagement. If you do primarily snow slogging then you should focus on repetitive, weightbearing, multidirectional exercises on an unstable surface like a foam pad or wobble board like Layton mentioned.

Excessive or poorly controlled motion of the foot, ankle, knee or hip can increase stress to that area, which may be corrected with exercises or orthotic devices. There are ways to "cheat" a bit on rehab in order allow more participation in activity. Things like heel lifts and specific taping techniques can be used to temporarily reduce stress to calf structures while exercising/climbing/hiking, but need to be implemented by someone with experience.

Stretching is a good idea if done correctly. If you have actual tightness in calf muscles that limits ankle movement then you may need to increase flexibility of the calf muscles. If your ankle range of motion is relatively normal then stretching should be done more lightly just to reduce tension in the affected muscles. Overstretching will tear apart tissues that are trying to heal and create excessive scar tissue.

Ice climbing tends to involve a unique recruitment of calf muscles because the foot and ankle are held in fairly rigid confinement while holding body weight at the end of an abnormally long lever arm (normal lever arm would be ankle to ball of foot, with crampons it extends all the way to frontpoints). I used to train my calves for frontpointing, when unable to get outside, by donning boots and 'pons, setting my frontpoints on a piece of 4"x4" wood nailed to a 2'x2' square piece of plywood (plywood to protect my floor). I would stand on my front points for several minutes at a time while watching TV, shifting weight now and then, holding various knee positions, etc.

More than you wanted to know.

Cheers,

Bruk

 

[BirdDog]

I know you said you injured your calf, but here's some food for thought. For some years I had problems with my calves, tightness, sore etc.. no injury. I could not stretch the problem out. Due to foot issues I got some orthotics and bingo - no calf problems. My arch had "fallen" and the Doc said calf was being pulled by ligaments which were now sort of in the wrong alignment. Someone w/more medical knowledge could probably explain this better than I.

 

Take a look at "foot orthotics survey" on cc.com.

[layton]

My PNW climbers don't need to do calf raises was merely a jab at the long approaches. Listen to "brukb"-sound advice.

 

BirdDog-tendons from leg muscles (along with the alignment of your bones, fascia, ligaments, etc) hold up your foot arch, and could likely create more demands on your calf muscles if those muscles got stretched out or were weak...the foot is your foundation, and if the foundation changes, things upstairs must compensate as a result. Sounds like your Doc was just trying to make it easy to understand, which usually furthers confusion.

[BirdDog]

layton; you said what the doc said. I just didn't articulate well. Everything works OK now with orthotics/supefeet.