Calf muscle pain ?soleus?

[tdonbelay]

I thought I was the only one who experienced this strange injury until i started searching the web. The weird thing is I can go months of hard exercise (mainly running) and have no pain, and then - without notice WHAM! - it feels like I get stabbed deep in the calf and I hobble home. I have generally been able to recover in one week or so, but it is frustrating to say the least

I found this gem on the web and this runner described my problem quite well, as well as how he treats it. I hope it is found useful by anyone who is interested.

Calf Muscle, Muscle, Pain, circulation, Strength, Flexibility,

I also found an article that suggests the following regarding self-massage in this case:

"Most massages don't get to the soleus muscle or the tibialis posterior muscle, both of which are under the thick gastrocnemius muscle that forms the calf. You can treat them with your opposite knee, which is most effective at reaching this spot. The problem with stretching when there is a knot in the muscle is that stretching won't release the knot, and it will actually make the spasm more complicated while overstretching the fibers on either side of the spasm. You really need to release that spasm first. The most effective way is direct pressure onto the spasm, and hold it for 60 seconds."

[hrjones]

Great thread!!

This is definietly me. I have all of the above and have had for about 3.5 years. The problem is in my RIGHT soleus. In addition I have had Gilmore's groin surgery (1995) (LEFT) side and wear orthotics (since 2001). My internal hip rotation is not good on my RIGHT side. I also have a hyper mobile Sacro-illiac (I can crack it back in either side by tensing my Gluts).

In my latest episode of Calf heart attack (coined somewhere on t'internet) I have played 10 weeks of touch rugby, had a two week rest and completed 8 weeks of a 10 week beginner 10k program before I went pop on Sunday. On the day in question I had completed 5 min warm up run and was in the faster phase (no faster than anything done in the last 4 weeks). Was running on even grass.

My feeling when starting running were:
1. My sacro-illiac feels "out" but not in an comfortable way. Shall I stop and crack it back in: No because:
2. My right hip was not showing ANY signs of mild discomfort (which it almost always does).

As soon as my soleus "went" I cracked my Sacro-Illiac back in and trudged dejectedly back home.

Any tips for which areas I need to improve in order to prevent this from happening again will be greatly received