calf injury recovery issues & runners advice

jennasbarton
jennasbarton Posts: 23 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

Some months ago I suffered a pretty severe calf strain- grade 2/3 to those who know about these things. I had to walk with crutches for 3 weeks then very awkwardly without support for a couple of weeks after that. Coming up to 3 months after the injury it was still tender if touched- like it doesn't hurt all the time but if something bangs into me or some darling child bashes into my leg it hurts it.

I am still waiting for a physiotherapy appointment (NHS) but as I hit 4 months since the incident and have been feeling better I took a very gentle run last night using the couch to 5k method of a long warm up, then 8 sets of 60 seconds jogging and 90 seconds walking. By the last set the calf was starting to feel frozen and a little achey but it was ok.

This is last night and now this afternoon I'm feeling weird burning sensations in the calf and some weakness.

If anyone else has been through a similar injury or has experience in these, is this normal? Any idea if I should still be laying off exercise all together? Would appreciate any thoughts.

Original injury occurred when playing netball, almost sprinting to keep up with my mark and it just popped.

Replies

  • kd_mazur
    kd_mazur Posts: 569 Member
    I suffered a sever strain a few years ago. I find that still today by the end of a run it feels tight sometimes. I have learned to know the limit to avoid re injury. Make sure you are allowing enough time between running days to give the injured site time to recover and listen to what your calf muscle is telling you. Some days will be stronger than others...other days you may spend walking more than running.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    can you afford to see a physio privately?
  • jennasbarton
    jennasbarton Posts: 23 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    can you afford to see a physio privately?

    Unfortunately not.
  • jennasbarton
    jennasbarton Posts: 23 Member
    kd_mazur wrote: »
    I suffered a sever strain a few years ago. I find that still today by the end of a run it feels tight sometimes. I have learned to know the limit to avoid re injury. Make sure you are allowing enough time between running days to give the injured site time to recover and listen to what your calf muscle is telling you. Some days will be stronger than others...other days you may spend walking more than running.

    How long did you take out and did you have physio or just rest until pain free?
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Injured calves can act up for quite a while in my experience, especially if the underlying issues that caused it aren't address. A common cause is wearing shoes with a raised heel throughout the day, which tightens the calves. Most shoes have a raised heel unfortunately. Very frequent stretching may offset that somewhat. :+1:
  • CrabbyCancerMama
    CrabbyCancerMama Posts: 95 Member
    I had that a couple of months ago. My Physical therapist did Dry Needle Therapy on the muscle it helped A TON. it's kind of like acupuncture. with that, massage, stretches and exercises I healed in about 3/4 weeks. it was not a grade 3 though. Also try a calf sleeve it gives you better blood flow in the leg which helps the muscle and endurance

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