Ankle and Calf Pain

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subtilty
subtilty Posts: 33
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All,

I have recently started walking to work. Its about a 15 minute walk on normal street paths. I walk at about a 4mph pace and recently have found that after about 5-6 minutes my calves and ankles become very painful and my calf muscles become very tender and a burning sensation. Anyone know how I can prevent/cure this? I tried resting for 3 days but today it has happened again.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
James

Replies

  • DianaPre
    DianaPre Posts: 4
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    might be shin splints - worst case scenario

    might be something as simple as - it's time to get new sneakers. either yours aren't a good fit, need insoles, or may be too old and a new set should be purchased.
  • SkinnySkelton
    SkinnySkelton Posts: 19
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    Have you stretched out? It could be your trainers, If they are well worn you may have lost the support.

    Otherwise it could just be a case of working through it until your body is used to it.
  • subtilty
    subtilty Posts: 33
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    I was thinking Shin Splints but the pain is in the calf muscle as opposed to the shin area.

    Also... I normally walk to work in my Work shoes so I thought that could be the issue so I wore Trainers this morning which are pretty new and it still hurt.. Granted not as much but that might be my body getting used to it.

    I had a thought that it might be my body actually using the muscles that had become shall we say forgotten lol
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    Yeah - I remember being a teenager and walking to school and the first few weeks in Sept were the worst for pain. It's probably just muscles re-awakening :) I bring up my teenage years because again, I'm getting into the walking and again the pain. For a while it got me to stop walking and then I remembered those first few weeks and realized that it won't make any sense to stop now....keep going and it'll get better in a few weeks. If it becomes painful after your walk or if it lasts more than a few weeks, you might want to get checked out.
  • crasula
    crasula Posts: 53 Member
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    Your body just needs to get used to doing it every day. It's no different from when you start out running; you may run half a mile and feel you're going to die after but as you condidtion your body to do it more frequently you can increase the distance and speed to a point where it doesn't bother you at all.
    A good soak in the bath should cure the aches or if you know that your joints are a little weak then supplements like Glucosamine with Chondroitin will help maintain their condition.
  • crazybxrmom
    crazybxrmom Posts: 62 Member
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    another option..your shoe laces may be to tight. Try loosening them some. It made a huge difference for me when I first got back into walking and running.
  • subtilty
    subtilty Posts: 33
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    crasula - fantastic thanks, I might try those just to help that extra bit. I am thinking your right about how my body just needs to get used to the constant exercise again.

    Thanks everyone :D
  • gillleeman
    gillleeman Posts: 397 Member
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    It could be soreness from new exercise, but it could also be over pronation of the foot/feet. It would definately be wise to visit a good sports shop and invest in some decent footwear and have a gait analysize done. This way they can tell you if you overpronate or not. If you do you can buy inserts/wedges to go inside your trainers. The cheap trainers offer no support to the feet at all. Whether you are walking or running your feet take a good bashing.

    In the meantime ice the area and elevate as much as possible and take ibruprofen. After three days if no improvement then use heat instead of the ice.

    My guess is your ankle/s is out of line due to pronation and causing the pain in your calf.

    Hope this also helps.
  • subtilty
    subtilty Posts: 33
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    That is spot on!!! Just had a look on how to tell if you have Pronation and I do. Thought I walked a bit funny :)

    Going to get it sorted out. Wow thanks so much
  • gillleeman
    gillleeman Posts: 397 Member
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    You're welcome :smile:

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