Tennis leg -- Wacky cure

GiddyupTim

I have this counter-intuitive (wacky) way of rehabilitating the calf injury known as 'tennis leg.' I have never heard of it or read of it anywhere, other than where I heard it. So I would like to know if anyone here knows of this.
Every time I recommend it to someone, they get a wan smile on their face, and a patronizing look in their eye, and they say: 'No thanks. I think I'll stick with RICE. Now, leave me alone.'
For those who do not know, tennis leg, or tennis player's calf, is a characteristic injury that happens when you sprint, almost exclusively to older people. I suppose they named it tennis player's calf because in the past the only adults who ever sprinted were tennis players. I played adult soccer. I have never known it to occur in a soccer player younger than 30 years. But, every soccer player who is 40 years old knows it intimately.
The injury is very unique. It feels like something popped in the middle of the back of your calf. I have seen people swivel around in fury when it happened -- because it feels just like someone kicked you, or you were shot, or someone threw something really hard at you -- only to find no one and no thing there.
It is very painful and tender afterward.
I am not sure doctors even know what this injury is or why it happens to older people so exclusively. Oh, they will tell you that it is a 'strain of the gastrocemius medialis.' But that is not really what it is. That is just a description of its location. It feels like you have a long thin tendon that goes down the center of your calf and it just snapped.
Anyway, to my point. I had this injury and I hobbled around and rested it for about two weeks, and then went back out to play soccer again. Ouch. On the third or fourth sprint, my calf snapped again and I was in pain. So, I hobbled around again, and rested it for three weeks, and then went back out again. Same result. Ouch.
I tried rest for four and five weeks, and I was at a loss. It is an incredibly inconvenient injury because it is uncomfortable to walk around on.
At the time, the internet was not so complete and I did not really know what I had. I knew a few other soccer players who had had the same injury, but they didn't know anything about it either.
Now around this time, I happened to be talking to an orthopedic surgeon who was a team doctor for the San Francisco Giants and so I said to him: 'Listen, doc, I know you guys get asked for free medical advice all the time, and I'm sorry, but I have this stubborn calf injury I just can't shake.'
And, he said: 'Oh yeah. That is tennis players calf. You know what you want to do? Go out and jog on it. Lightly. Even though it hurts. Don't sprint. Just go easy. Around the block, or a mile or two. Do it every day.'
Well, I was flabbergasted because no doctor ever tells you to beat on an injured part that hurts.
'It will be better in a week,' he added.
He was wrong. It was better -- completely cured -- in four days.
Has anyone else ever heard of this rehab?
Please, everyone thinks I'm a complete nut job.

rugbyphreak

I have never heard of it, but my coach used to tell us to jog off our leg injuries. If there was no bone sticking out, we should jog until it didn't hurt anymore. I think he just wanted us to be far enough away from him so that he couldn't hear us complaining about it...

GiddyupTim

That's rugby, a whole different donkey. Rugby players believe that if the blood is not spurting, and the angle of the arm or leg is not completely unnatural, then you are good to go.

rugbyphreak

I know. We're very strange, but I was never that good at tennis and certainly wasn't sprinting to get the ball, so I can't really tell you anything about the tennis leg. I can tell you that moving does help with blood flow to the injured area. One of the worst things you can do for a cramped or sore muscle is just sit on your butt.

I'm not surprised that this works, but I am surprised that it's an injury mostly found in people over 30... Now I want to know why! Why has no one run studies on this?!

GiddyupTim

Tennis leg descriptions usually do note that it occurs only in older athletes. One says: "Tennis leg usually occurs in middle-age athletes who have experienced initial stages of muscle atrophy and degeneration due to aging and inactivity."
Very sad. I guess I got the atrophy and degeneration.

GiddyupTim

Anyone?