Hey People, I have been running a couple of days a week for about a month and ever since I started my calves absolutely kill after I run.( as in limping around for a couple of hours )
I have been stretching and stretching to no avail. The pain seems to be focused on the inside of my calves when bending my foot back.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, KraigY
Take a break from running. How fast, and how far are you running, and how long has it been since you ran any real distances? I had what sounds like the same problem a few years ago because I went from no running to running frequently. I was stubborn and kept running regardless, and it got worse. I ended up taking two weeks off running, and I did a wierd stretch that hit the inner side of the calf alot better. Try doing your standard bent over toe-touch stretch, but cross your feet over so that your feet are side by side but the outer edges of both feet are touching each other, know what I mean? Also, try a different variation of the toe touch stretch with your heels one foot apart but your toes pointing in at each other and touching. I know it sounds really strange but it worked for me. When you get back to running, start out easy, you may feel like a wuss but at least you wont injure yourself while your body gets up to speed.
You shouldn’t stretch before your workout, only after. You need a sufficient active warmup. Also, backwards running works the shin balances which will take stress off your calves.
Thanks for the great info the stretches you suggested hit that “spot” and yes running backwards does alleviate the pain.
Thanks Again, KraigY
you need to workout the front of the shins by doing toe pulls. Thre might be muscle imbalance. laters pk