IT band pain became calf pain

ahviendha

I'm desperate. I have a 5k on the 14th and I've had pain in my right leg for about a week now.

Details:
Been doing 30DS, not consistently, maybe 3x a week. Finished Level 2 a few weeks ago, started Level 3 last Wednesday.
The day after 30DS, my right leg IT band was definitely strained. It became worse for a day or two, but I did IT band stretches for days and walked lightly and jogged 1-2x (for 20 minutes) to get the blood flowing. IT band all healed up by Tuesday, and yesterday (I did another round of 30ds level 3), my right calf starts hurting.

It's not muscle soreness, I am familiar with that. But I began limping yesterday, and today, and decided to ask MFP community to see if anyone knows what's going on. It hurts both when I retract, and expand the muscle. I had my BF massage it yesterday and it was a sharp pain if he hit the wrong area. The pain is in the meaty part of my calf (gastronemicus?).
I eat a banana every day (heard something about bananas being good for muscle soreness)

After re-reading all that, I realize I probably shouldn't have jumped back into 30DS so quickly.

What is everyone's experience/opinion on running a 5k with calf pain? Should I keep doing what I'm doing, stretching, light walking, Advil to reduce swelling? Oh also I have a wedding to go to on Saturday, I was going to wear heels but I think I'll wear flats knowing I'll be running the next day. I thought I had beastly calf muscles and am disappointed I abused them to this point. Damn you JM! Damn you!

ahviendha

bump!

brandyk77

if you just started level 3, I am going to guess the rock star jumps and jumping lunges are the culprit. If it is a sharp pain, take a few days off. If not, take some magnesium, roll it, stretch and do some very easy running. Compression socks/sleeves if you got them.

justal313

if you just started level 3, I am going to guess the rock star jumps and jumping lunges are the culprit. If it is a sharp pain, take a few days off. If not, take some magnesium, roll it, stretch and do some very easy running. Compression socks/sleeves if you got them.

Compression sleeves have pretty well eliminated my calf pain. I have heel pain now from heel striking. I'm pretty sure it's planar faciatias but I'm seeing a foot doctor tomorrow to be sure.

I have a 5k next weekend. A 10K november 11th and a 5k on thanksgiving. I'm really hoping that those aren't my only running days.

Dammit I'm really starting to get into this..

meshashesha2012

i just ordered some compression sleeves for zensah.com for calf pain until my muscles get used to running and jumping.

for IT band, you better work that b*tch on a foam roller :laugh:

secretlobster

Second or third vote for compression sleeve/band, I bet this will work like magic for you. Also no more 30DS until after your 5k! Take it easy and do some slow runs instead.

Heaven71

I'm desperate. I have a 5k on the 14th and I've had pain in my right leg for about a week now.

Details:
Been doing 30DS, not consistently, maybe 3x a week. Finished Level 2 a few weeks ago, started Level 3 last Wednesday.
The day after 30DS, my right leg IT band was definitely strained. It became worse for a day or two, but I did IT band stretches for days and walked lightly and jogged 1-2x (for 20 minutes) to get the blood flowing. IT band all healed up by Tuesday, and yesterday (I did another round of 30ds level 3), my right calf starts hurting.

It's not muscle soreness, I am familiar with that. But I began limping yesterday, and today, and decided to ask MFP community to see if anyone knows what's going on. It hurts both when I retract, and expand the muscle. I had my BF massage it yesterday and it was a sharp pain if he hit the wrong area. The pain is in the meaty part of my calf (gastronemicus?).
I eat a banana every day (heard something about bananas being good for muscle soreness)

After re-reading all that, I realize I probably shouldn't have jumped back into 30DS so quickly.

What is everyone's experience/opinion on running a 5k with calf pain? Should I keep doing what I'm doing, stretching, light walking, Advil to reduce swelling? Oh also I have a wedding to go to on Saturday, I was going to wear heels but I think I'll wear flats knowing I'll be running the next day. I thought I had beastly calf muscles and am disappointed I abused them to this point. Damn you JM! Damn you!

Get a foam roller for sure, lots of stretching and massaging, change your macros to reflect your potassium intake. Possible try comprassion socks as well. I also added doubt Dr Scholls to my shoes and haven't had a pain since.

dittmarml

How old are you?

Any history of heart arrhythmia and/or clots (thrombosis, stroke, mild TIA, "circulation problems") in your family?

Not diagnosing, simply suggesting that if it's point pain, not muscle pain, and there is swelling, check your family history and keep an eye out for any discoloration (although that's not necessarily going to show up in the case of a partial blockage).

If it doesn't remit with stretching and rest after a couple of days, see a doctor.

MoreBean13

I have a story to share with you. Years ago when I started running, I started getting IT band problems, except I didn't know what it was, it felt like a mild hip and knee issue, but I found if I ran through the pain, it went away after a mile and a half. I loved running, so I did that for a while. With time it got worse and worse, and my knee started hurting all the time, so I was icing it regularly and continued to run through it. Fast forward a while, and all of a sudden I lost the feeling in half of my left foot. It felt a bit like pins and needles, but had no pressure or pain sensation. So I went to see the sports medicine orthopedist at my university. They did X-rays and whatever other tests, and finally MRIs on my leg and back to check for nerve damage. It turns out I had developed tarsal tunnel syndrome (carpal tunnel of the foot) because the IT band issue altered my gait and the injury cascaded through the movement chain all the way to the inside of my foot. I had to stop running for like 2 months, and finally the feeling came back to my foot like 6 months after that. All of that trouble would have been solved by doing IT band stretches from the get-go.

So, long story short, IT band tightness/pain can cause more serious injuries if you don't take care of them PREVENTATIVELY from the beginning. Start doing IT band stretches RIGHT NOW, and take a break from running until it's better. Pushing through it can have serious consequences and leave you unable to run at all. Stretch the IT bands every single day. I haven't had any injuries since I started doing the stretches.

BinaryPulsar

I agree with the others. I have patellofemoral syndrome (along with other orthopedic issues and serious impact injuries to my knees). The pain sometimes extends down the back of my calf or up the back of my hamstring or I feel it in the inner quads next to the knee, or along the IT band. When I massage the muscles I can feel knots in the muscle. Foam roller, stretching/dynamic warm-ups/yoga/dancing, massaging your own muscles...all of that helps me. I also ice and that helps a lot. Walking and keeping moving through the day helps. It's no good for me to sit around in chairs. But, I don't do steady state running or high impact cardio. I run in spurts for my dancing or when playing with my children or when I'm late or if someone is chasing me (just kidding). It's always a good idea to go to a doctor and to a physio and get x-rays for starters.