Calf Soleus Pain and Strain...

[scott.undefined]

Heya Docs!

About 13 years ago (when in high school), I strained my right upper calf muscle while running and haven't had a problem since....until this morning. From my limited understanding, it is a pretty mild strain (but I don't want to run for sure) in the upper lateral part of my right calf. Based on whether it hurts when having the leg extended or bent, due to the pain when bent, I'm supposing it is a soleus strain. So, naturally, other than ricing it today, I've been preoccupied with what happened, and how my technique may have caused it. Here are my thoughts. Do they make sense?

Facts:

1. I was running on a trail this morning with rocks and roots in abudance.

2. I'm still recovering from a left forefoot bruising that occurred by stepping on a 2 inch high and 1 inch wide stump in the trails of Lake Tahoe. Oops. So, I'm likely favoring my right side out of fear since stones and twigs hurt my left foot.

3. I was wearing VFFs....I've been running barefoot for 6 mos or so...which means I'm a noob and am still trying to figure this out. I was competitive when younger but had plantar faciitis so I took 8 years off from running (I would start but then the plantar stuff would come right back). Started 6 mos ago...no plantar faciitis problems.

Thoughts:

Is it possible that tension in my ankles may have contributed to this strain? I have a really hard time letting my feet relax expecially when I'm worried about foot placement. How do you handle foot placement and keep loose at the same time? Is this related to the soleus strain? If so, should I keep off those trails until I have a full recovery?

Thanks!

Scott

 

[mokaman]

Welcome to barefooting!The

Welcome to barefooting!

The soleus muscle is under your calf on the lower part of the back leg around the ankle area and above...usually problems arrive from your leg being used to heel lift in your shoes and switching to zero drop shoes without enough to adapt but you have been running in Vibrams for 6 months.

The soleus gets worked over from stretching the calf area like running without letting the heel touch down all the way or running very fast or tensing your calf too muchl...maybe your not letting the heel touch down enough...more of a mid-foot landing might help. Check to see if your landing too far up on the toes?

The trail running...roots etc are not the cause for this...also to help with the PF go barefoot more in your every day life and your running too if it fits in ok. Your thinking right about keeping your ankle muscles relaxed on your foot landing...that is really key to keep the muscles from tensing up which causes fatigue in the lower leg...this is mental really and keeping your cadence high(180) with shorter stride helps this a lot. Just try to mentally relax your calf on each foot landing while lifting your foot quickly...it takes some trust. Practice this on the pavement then when you have this improved go back to the trails...mix up the run surfaces if you can.

 

[scott.undefined]

Thanks for you reply Mokaman!

Thanks for you reply Mokaman! You suggest:

"The soleus gets worked over from stretching the calf area like running without letting the heel touch down all the way or running very fast or tensing your calf too muchl...maybe your not letting the heel touch down enough...more of a mid-foot landing might help."

I think this may indeed be what happened. On pavement, since there is no fear for the bruising type of injury from stones or twigs, I'm much more relaxed and feel that my heels do touch and everything is pretty good. But, on the trail, when I trying to be careful about where to place my feet, I think I hold a lot of tension in my ankles and land on the ball of my feet, since I can see where they are going. I think I need to avoid running on this type of terrain until I make some huaraches (the material comes in later this week) with more protection....and let my left foot heal.

Again, thanks for your response. It's so nice to find a community online where people think about this stuff as much or more than I do....

 

[Dr. Mark]

Scott, Several things may

Scott,



Several things may be playing in here. A gait pattern where you are pushing too much vs relaxing and using elastic recoil can contribute.



More importantly is an assessment of gastroc/soleus and large toe mobility. Having essential range of motion in these areas facilitate a barefoot style of running. Can you do a basic squat and get all the way down to the ground without your heels coming up. Aslo see if your great toe can dorsiflex while your foot is in full dorsiflexion (foot pointed up). This assesses plantar fascia mobility.



Also are you strong and stable on one foot?



These are the essential “chassis” issues to run in thin/zero drop shoes or barefoot.



Dr. Mark

 

[scott.undefined]

 Thanks Dr. Mark,  I have

Thanks Dr. Mark, I have responded to your comments below:

"Several things may be playing in here. A gait pattern where you are pushing too much vs relaxing and using elastic recoil can contribute."

- I am pretty conscienscious about my lift the feet off the ground instead of pushing. But, no doubt, I likely changed my gait significantly on the trail...

"Can you do a basic squat and get all the way down to the ground without your heels coming up."

- I can do a squat all the way until my thighs are parallel to the ground, with my heels down no prob. Any lower and I have to bend my upper body forward. I am generally quite, errr very, inflexible, but I work on it. I do yoga once every couple of weeks and stretch pretty well after runs. But, I haven't really deliberately stretched my soleus because I didn't know that a straight leg calf stretch didn't stretch my whole calf!

"Aslo see if your great toe can dorsiflex while your foot is in full dorsiflexion (foot pointed up). This assesses plantar fascia mobility."

Yeah, I can wiggle my toes pretty good when in dorsiflexion.

"Also are you strong and stable on one foot?"

At least in yoga I am. In most of the poses I work on having a strong foundation. I also wear flip flops all the time (i'm still working on suitable winter wear for my feet since we just moved to Michigan from San Diego), so I think my toes are pretty strong.

I suspect that you are right: my inflexibility, in addition to this being a weak area, has definitely not helped in staying healthy! As such, I will definitely focus on a better stretching routine. Thanks!!!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

(...we just moved to Michigan

(...we just moved to Michigan from San Diego).

Sorry to interrupt here...

but WHY?! No offense to my Michigan friends. ;-)

 

[scott.undefined]

Hahaha.  Yeah, I know.  It's

Hahaha. Yeah, I know. It's for the prospect of a more rewarding and prosperous future. In other words, grad school. Go green!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Well, good luck to you.  I

Well, good luck to you. I moved from San Diego (where I lived the first 17 years) to Paducah, KY, for 4 years, then back up to the Bay Area for another 4 years. I've been in Georgia now since 1991. I still miss California. I miss the energy, the vibe, the ocean, the mountains, the desert, the Santee River, the canyons, the horse country, the people, my friends... I think I will go cry now. :cry: