another calf pain thread

[blacksheep40]

so i get a recurring pain in my calfs. i get a sharp pain between the two calf muscles and it seems to take a long time to go away. i am in the army so i can either run through it and make it worse or get deadlined for a couple weeks only to have it come back. i am currently taking a break from my vff and am running in my nike frees but would like to know how to make it go away. i feel more comfortable running in my vff but they are not allowed for pt. been looking at some merrel trail gloves and would like to know if they would be better for me than my nikes. i know i am rambling but I'm sure someone has to be able to follow me. thanks

 

[Backfixer]

My guess, is that your gluts are tight, and you are tight in the it bands and the back of the knees. This will cause the calf to tighten and you likely are slamming your feet into the ground, even though you have a mid foot stride.

I may get some heat for this but you may consider going shod for a few weeks which may relieve this by opening your hips up. Work on the areas I mentioned above with a foam roller and then as time allows, see a good sports chiropractor. There is more going on than you understand. Also, if you do take my suggestion for going shod, put in a good pair of off the shelf orthotics to level your hips out, they are probably torqued.

Without having you in front of me on this one, I cannot be more helpful however, I believe you will find many of my assumptoms are correct.

 

[blacksheep40]

thanks for the info, I definitely have to stretch more but I didn't realize it could have that much of an impact on the rest of me

 

[mokaman]

Hey blacksheep,

I know Backfixer means well but I wouldn't jump the gun on getting any orthotics...if your hips are wacked up get that fixed. Since your already a shod runner the advice to "consider going shod for a few weeks" seems out of place. How long have you been running in Vibrams? What were you running in before that?

 

[Zetti]

My guess, is that your gluts are tight, and you are tight in the it bands and the back of the knees. This will cause the calf to tighten and you likely are slamming your feet into the ground, even though you have a mid foot stride.

I may get some heat for this but you may consider going shod for a few weeks which may relieve this by opening your hips up. Work on the areas I mentioned above with a foam roller and then as time allows, see a good sports chiropractor. There is more going on than you understand. Also, if you do take my suggestion for going shod, put in a good pair of off the shelf orthotics to level your hips out, they are probably torqued.

Without having you in front of me on this one, I cannot be more helpful however, I believe you will find many of my assumptoms are correct.

As much as I disagree with you...I'm glad to see you still posting
I was hoping that we didn't run you out of here.
I like to think that we are an open community

and blacksheep40 just realize that there are a lot of different ways to approach calf pain issues while transitioning BF.
What is important is that you are in tune with your body and enjoying yourself as this should be the end goal.
That being said, many go through certain discomfort during any type of transition in life....so take any pain with a grain of salt
and run happy!

 

[blacksheep40]

I am active army so I can't wear vff in uniform. I run in Nike frees during the week and vff on weekends. I took the winter off from vff and have only done a couple miles in them so far. our company pt went from free running to formation runs every day. so it seems it might be an over use injury.

 

[Zetti]

I am active army so I can't wear vff in uniform. I run in Nike frees during the week and vff on weekends. I took the winter off from vff and have only done a couple miles in them so far. our company pt went from free running to formation runs every day. so it seems it might be an over use injury.

well...recover is often important while transitioning....it might be worth transitioning when you can do it "correctly" (whatever that means ) . It might also be worth posting in the military section. I'm sure you are not the only one in this position.

 

[mokaman]

I am active army so I can't wear vff in uniform. I run in Nike frees during the week and vff on weekends. I took the winter off from vff and have only done a couple miles in them so far. our company pt went from free running to formation runs every day. so it seems it might be an over use injury.

When you go to a lower heel lift or zero drop shoe like the VFF's from a heel lifted shoe you will most likely get sore calf muscles for up to several months...there is no way to know how long it will take for your legs to adapt. The more you wear zero dropped foot ware in your everyday life the faster you will adapt. Like Zetti said I would ask over in the military forum about zero dropped Army boot/shoes for every day use and transitioning.

 

[blacksheep40]

the pain is right in the middle of the 2 calf muscles at the bottom. it's a sharp pain.

 

[migangelo]

you have a trigger point there MOST likely. a little pressure there will release it. "trigger point self therapy manual" by Clare Davies should be everyone's friend.

the doc could be right. tight glutes, weak hips. also are you letting your heels touch the ground? most newbies, including this one, don't allow them to touch and run on their toes. you need to make sure your heels touch down so your leg can act like a spring. also don't forget that wearing shoes, which have heels, shortens your achilles tendon so you will be going through growing pains for that.

 

[blacksheep40]

I'm not touching my heels... that could be it

 

[Bare Lee]

I would just add to Mike's excellent comments that you should stretch and massage the heck out of your lower leg, both the calf and the shin muscles, even after your pain goes away, as a preventative. I do that once a day. A rolling pin will work, or a "stick" (I use this one http://www.amazon.com/The-Stick-HD-1000-Little/dp/B001O0H436/ref=pd_sim_sg_3). I also like an electric massager (http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Percussion-Massager-Tapping-Infrared/dp/B0039H65D2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1367426267&sr=8-4&keywords=electric massager).

I stretch the lower leg by pulling my toes and ball of my foot towards me and my toes away from me while the foot is up on the opposite knee.

If you got weak glutes, do deadlifts and squats.

Don't screw around with orthotics, and run barefoot as much as possible.

 

[mokaman]

I'm not touching my heels... that could be it

That would be it most likely...there is a sweet spot on how hard to let your heels touch and how much tension on your calf muscle...tweak that by how much you bend your knees when landing...that's how I perceive it anyways.

 

[blacksheep40]

I had an epiphany. I think I'm over striding, causing my foot to roll inward before contacting the ground. which is causing me to use more inner calf muscle instead if a more even propelling motion

 

[BFwillie_g]

I had an epiphany. I think I'm over striding, causing my foot to roll inward before contacting the ground. which is causing me to use more inner calf muscle instead if a more even propelling motion

Overstriding would tend to make itself felt on the front of the lower leg ie shin (splints). But it's all connected and nothing's impossible.

I thought the no heel-touch was the most likely form-issue mentioned. But to touch heels down, you probably have to work on the rest of your form first. Don't just start forcing them to land on the ground without any other changes in your form.

And the best place to start is still the higher turnover coupled with shorter strides, with no increase in pace. And analyze your upper body and arm carriage as well.

In the meantime, roll the heck out of those calves and Achilles tendons.

 

[blacksheep40]

as I over stride I'm pointing my toes and foot down causing it to roll towards the outside. when I land on it it's putting more weight on the inside calf muscle

 

[BFwillie_g]

as I over stride I'm pointing my toes and foot down causing it to roll towards the outside. when I land on it it's putting more weight on the inside calf muscle

You're landing with outstretched legs far ahead of your center of gravity (overstriding) with toes pointing down? That's pretty unusual. I guess that'd stress the heck out of the entire lower leg, and everything else, right up the to the shoulders.

Any chance of getting a video posted? That'd be a great help.

 

[blacksheep40]

video not possible right now. I have stopped running like that anyways. I'm going to integrate more slowly with my minimus shoes though. I did good on my calves for a year until my unit started running 5 days a week with no build up mileage, just every day fast runs and sprints (I'm active duty army). so now the running has been brought down to a reasonable level, and I'm going to do the majority of my running in my frees. I have read nearly every medical commentary on my issue and I am thinking it could be compartment syndrome (chronic exertional) because before I get to the painful part I have a numbness that starts at the calf and works it's way down

 

[migangelo]

go to teamdoctorsblog.com. you'll find lots of good info there and look at videos from somewhere around #77-88.

 

[blacksheep40]

so here is something about the military that sucks. I'm on orders to go to an army school in July, and I can't have a "profile" which is basically a doctor slip saying you can't do something like run or do push-ups because of an injury. I'm also trying to get orders to go to Germany and can't be on a profile either . so I'm gonna have to train around this thing so I can do cool stuff..