Should I try running today?

[PatrickGSR94]

I hate this. It's been almost 2 weeks since I last ran or even walked. Stupid calf pain. I tried rolling my calf muscles last night with a thick 3" diameter cardboard tube. I didn't have any foam to put on it, which means the surface of the tube is obviously harder than if it did have some thin foam on it. After rolling it, the pain seemed about the same, or in some cases maybe even a little worse.

I want to get out there so bad, but at the same time am afraid of making it worse. I suppose I could do something non-impact like the elliptical machine, but stationary indoor workouts like that bore me to tears. I really prefer to be moving outdoors, either walking, running, or cycling.

Thoughts?

 

[Chaserwilliams]

Where is the pain located

Where is the pain located exactly? See if you can look at a diagram of the lower leg muscles and pin point where it hurts.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

http://barefootrunners.org/fo

http://barefootrunners.org/forum-topic/pain-outside-left-calf-muscle

I believe it may be where the p. longus and p. brevis cross over, on the outside of the calf, near the fibula bone. I was looking at the diagram backwards when I made that thread and incorrectly identified the muscle towards the inside of the calf.

The doc I saw yesterday said I may need to get an Xray or bone scan if it's not better within a month, but man this is going to kill me if I have to take another month off from walking and running.

I guess I could bring my bike to work (been doing workouts during lunch break) and ride around town, but my bike is more for off-road riding, and I much prefer on-road riding. That plus I totally SUCK at hilly terrain, part of which is probably the bike with front suspension, knobby tires, etc etc. I didn't know enough to buy a road bike when I bought this bike from a guy back about 5 years ago.

 

[NickW]

If your still hurting, I

If your still hurting, I personally would not go for a run. Nothing gained by possibly re-injuring it more. I would give it a couple more days of rolling out the muscles and rest and see if the pain gets any better. After my calf injury I am super cautious now if I feel any pain because I believe that I just kept making it worse by trying to run every week and stretching before it was healed. I am afraid to be out for two months again like that. I would rather give it a couple extra days and make sure I'm ready than potentially cause myself to be out couple more months. I also have a goal of being able to run for the rest of my life, not just a goal of running a race. Good luck in what ever you decide to do!

 

[PatrickGSR94]

But this pain has been around

But this pain has been around for about a month now. I was taking naproxen sodium for a few days back a couple of weeks ago. and sometimes it would seem the pain was gone. So I would go out for another E25K installment, only to have the pain come right back.

I will probably try to find, hopefully today, a 4" PVC pipe to wrap with some foam and duct tape (DIY foam roller I saw on YouTube last night) and see if that helps.

Is it possible that this rolling stuff could be making things worse? Or is it supposed to hurt worse at first before getting better?

 

[NickW]

Sometimes for me it does hurt

Sometimes for me it does hurt worse before it gets better, but usually it doesn't. I usually just massage the affected area(s) by hand more than using a roller, but sometimes a roller is just easier and quicker for me to do. It also gets deeper, which I'm learning to appreciate, not neccessarily like.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

You can over-roll your

You can over-roll your muscles and actually cause tears in the fibers by overdoing it, so be careful. One doc actually told me they had a patient who rolled so much that it actually tore the muscle from the bone.

You have a muscle injury, not a muscle tightness problem, correct?

I've been doing a lot of reading about tight calf muscles, and what I am reading seems so elementary but may hold the answers for many of us. Are you hydrated enough? Dehydration causes all kinds of problems with our muscles, including tight calves. Do you have a magnesium or calcium deficiency? Both are required for proper muscle function. Do you have a Vitamin D deficiency, which also causes tight calves? An injury will be slow to heal if the muscle area is tight. Anyway, if you're having trouble healing from a calf pull/strain, the reason why could be because your muscles aren't able to heal right now due to these possible reasons?

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Post your questions to the

Post your questions to the Ask the Docs forum. Maybe they can help you there as well.

 

[Chaserwilliams]

I dont endorse stretching as

I dont endorse stretching as it usually does more harm than good. I dont know about rolling though. Lots of people would say something along the lines of "well, a lion doesnt stretch before it chases down a gazelle", but that lion hasnt spent the past 20 years sitting on its ass like most of us have.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Well I went out walking BF

Well I went out walking BF for a couple of miles today. After a short warm-up, I didn't really feel any pain in my left calf. Since I didn't feel any pain, I ran for a short distance 3 or 4 times during the walk. The most I felt was maybe a slight bit of soreness, and my left calf muscles felt a little tight, but no pain. Right calf felt perfectly fine the whole time.

After finishing, though, the pain in the left calf, sort of on the back side but towards the left (outside) has come back, and the muscles still feel a little tight. Right calf still feels totally fine. At least at this point I can say it doesn't feel any worse than before.

I have greatly increased my water intake over the past couple of weeks, and am currently on day 12 of zero soft drinks. I also take a multi-vitamin (generic Centrum) daily. So I'm pretty sure there aren't any hydration or vitamin deficiency issues.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

You would be surprised at

You would be surprised at what constitutes a vitamin deficiency. The US FDA would have us believe that the only 400 IU of vitamin D3 is all that is needed when in fact, the amount is much, much higher.



A low level/Vitamin D deficiency can cause extreme muscle weakness and tightness that will not resolve on its own. Be sure they ask for a blood test to check your Vit D level, specifically 25(OH)D.

For everyone to consider when dealing with issues of tight calf muscles:



This advice is not such a long-shot...read on...



I had also experienced extreme muscle fatigue and tightening in my calves while running. My neurologist (treating for Morton's Neuroma) ran some blood work and found that I also had a Vitamin D deficiency. It was strange since I had been taking 1,000 IU of Vit D per night for the past half year. I did a lot of research to find out what to do about my problem. Apparently, they're finding out that the 400 IU per day the government feels is adequate isn't so, according to one article I read. The article stated that 93% of people who go to the emergency room (for whatever reason) are Vit D deficient. There may just be a hidden epidemic here. I found that doctors prescribe 50,000 IU once per week for those with Vit D deficiency. (I read on some of the Vit D discussion forums that some people experienced head aches, tremors, etc., when taking high doses of Vit D all at once.) So I decided to take 4,000, then 5,000, now 6,000 IU each night. Within 2 -3 weeks I began noticing that the weakness in my calf muscles went completely away. There's a very informative .PDF on Vit D deficiency at: http://www.savvypatients.com/NEJM%20Vitamin%20D%20Review.pdf. Also, check out the many resources at: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/. You can also get the liquid form of Vitamin D that works a lot quicker.



NOTE: That problem resolved with me, but after taking some antibiotics about 1-1/2 years ago, I have been dealing with tight calves ever since. I recently had my blood drawn, and the rhumatologist failed to check for Vitamin D and B-12 levels, so I will have to go to another doctor and ask for certain vitamins and nutrients be checked, some of which are Vitamin D, B-12, magnesium, calcium, and some others.

 

[migangelo]

lions do stretch. watch more

lions do stretch. watch more of the video. when they chase said gazelle they have been walking for a while and are well warmed up.



hell my dog just woke up, stretched, and rolled over to go back to sleep. he always stretches when he gets up but never during a run. when i had a cat he would stretch a lot too, just not while active.



me, i do yoga after a run while my muscles are still warm. it feels great and helps. i just start my runs slow and will stretch during a run if something is nagging me. i just don't stretch like bozo.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

That's not the same kind of

That's not the same kind of stretch the Sock Doc is talking about. In fact, he points out the difference between the two. An animal stretching after being idle is different from our bouncing and targeting "key" muscles and going to the extent we do.

I mean plenty of us get out of bed in the morning and give a good stretch, but is that the same simple stretch we do just before we go to a run or do some other exercise? No. If it is, I'd like to see that. Stand at your starting point, bend your elbows to your chest, then back out stretching really long, bringing your back into it and go for it. No. It's not the same.