Calf strain--I got hit

[AlwaysImproving]

About 2.5 weeks out. Recovery is frustratingly slow. Can walk but jogging is out. Took a quick step across an intersection the other night and the calf tightened and locked like the first few days of injury with just walking. Have been doing toe lifts and stretches. Maybe I need to stretch more (have not been doing sets of 10). I had hoped to be running by next week but it could be another 2-3 weeks for that. The bike on low resistance seems plausible (did it for 2 mins last night andf felt no pain). Anyways, bummed.

[Mike Hodge]

Originally Posted by AlwaysImproving

About 2.5 weeks out. Recovery is frustratingly slow. Can walk but jogging is out. Took a quick step across an intersection the other night and the calf tightened and locked like the first few days of injury with just walking. Have been doing toe lifts and stretches. Maybe I need to stretch more (have not been doing sets of 10). I had hoped to be running by next week but it could be another 2-3 weeks for that. The bike on low resistance seems plausible (did it for 2 mins last night andf felt no pain). Anyways, bummed.

Reminds me of what I went though. At your stage, I used the stationary bike a lot. I was like you --- I wanted to do as much as I possibly could to speed the recovery process, but my take on this type of injury is it simply takes time for the body to heal. That can't be rushed.

You'll play again and recover --- just not as quickly as you want.

[AlwaysImproving]

Originally Posted by L619

I got this injury twice - last year in the right, this year in the left leg. It takes time - last year about a month (it was grade 2), this year about 3 weeks (grade 1/2 and still recovering and playing very lightly). What helps is RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) for the first 48 hours, then stretching, when you feel comfortable without pain, on the wall with injured leg behind the healthy one and pushing the heel to the floor. You need to stop if you feel pain! Do it for 10 sec in series of 5. The other thing which helps me a lot is a cream called "Deep Relief" with ibuprofen in it. I'm not sure that you can buy in States though... I got it from Europe. Good luck with recovery. Unfortunately takes time and the season is so short, especially here in NW.

Thanks for the advice. Probably the only thing that will make it heal faster is not thinking about it.

[Mike Hodge]

I had a moderate tear of medial head of the gastroc. Tested every ounce of patience I had.

Took me a good month before I could even play and that was very limited. A little mini tennis, very light hitting from the middle of the baseline. Gradually, I got better, but the key, even though you're back on the court, is not to not push it.

First the muscle has to heal, then you have some rebuilding to do as far as stretching and strengthening and getting your body back into tennis shape. For me, I really didn't make significant progress until I started weekly PT --- and that was a month after the original injury.

I just started playing tennis about two years ago, but the torn gastroc made me appreciate the game --- mainly how tough it is on your body and why pros generally don't have real long careers. Not only do you have to stay in shape, but you have to take care of your body for the long haul, even at the rec level, IMO.

If I were you, I would use this 'off' time to ride the stationary bike (to try to maintain conditioning as much as possible) and incorporate a complete stretching program, not just the calves, everything, hamstrings, glutes, quads, hips, shoulder, etc. I've found the more flexible you are, the easier tennis is on your body.

[beeveewee]

same "whiffle bat" thing happened to me. Big pain for days. was skeptical about Physical Therapy but am so glad I went. Back on the court in around 3 weeks just taking volleys. Rallying again in 4. Full recovery in 4 1/2.

[Morgan]

Originally Posted by AlwaysImproving

Yes, felt like a tennis ball hitting the back of my calf. No tennis ball in sight.

Yep - it felt EXACTLY like that. All morning long the courts next to us were accidentally having balls roll onto our court. Thought this was just another one. Too bad it wasn't.

I ripped mine today and guess I'll be without sports for awhile. Still in the denial stage. Went 3 yrs since this has happened. I wonder if the cooler weather had anything do to with it? Happened in my third set of doubles. Depressing. On crutches, started on ibuprofen, and will throw ice packs on it (6 hrs late). I did have one of those neoprene compression wraps on it immediately. Hope that helped. Made a MD appt for tomorrow, but I don't know what she's going to do to assist.

Does anyone know if Physical Therapy will help this injury?

[Morgan]

Originally Posted by AlwaysImproving

Thanks for this. I had been hitting the gym before doing both upper and lower-body on weights, and maybe twice a week on the treadmill and elliptical. In retrospect, however, I would guess that what caused this injury was some combination of:

Lack of aerobic training with stretching.
Not stretching and warming up before the game (easy opponent).
Not stretching after doing weight exercises on my legs (presses, lifts).

Here's an interesting study from the journal of Sports Medicine stating that, while stretching may have no benefits for sports such as cycling or swimming, in sports that need what they call a "compliant" tendon (such as soccer, football and by extension tennis) require stretching to prevent injuries.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15233597

Another:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7712551

I've read other studies in which stretching may cause injuries, but this is in cases where the muscle is stretched beyond its normal range of motion:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15495679

The ironic thing for me is that just yesterday I picked up two books on conditioning for tennis (and golf) - I have neglected to stretch and stopped running 3 miles (every other day) a month ago due to the FLA heat. Guess I'll have a lot of time to read these books now. I definitely have learned my lesson regarding stretching before playing (and golfing).

[Morgan]

Third week since calf strain. Walked around the block, bearing weight finally without a hint of pain - but when I try a light jog, I feel a twinge. I'm probably about 3 weeks away from any tennis. Don't want to exacerbate. Stretching the calf muscle/gastrocnemius throuhout the day - wouldn't want this injury on anyone, especially anyone used to being active.

[Power Player]

I hate to read this stuff. Best ways to prevent these pulls?

I stretch my calves on the tennis netpost a lot. I have dealt with calf cramps in my life that put me down, but no tears..thankfully.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I hate to read this stuff. Best ways to prevent these pulls?

I stretch my calves on the tennis netpost a lot. I have dealt with calf cramps in my life that put me down, but no tears..thankfully.

That is a great stretch.

[FuriousYellow]

Finally got over the calf strain in my left leg and was running again and now my right one is strained. Same part of the calf as the left one (soleus). Pain was gone after a few days of R.I.C.E., but I'm being extra cautious with it. My left one didn't start out serious either, but kept getting re-injured after I thought it was healed. Ended up lingering for months.

The worst thing about these strains is there's no warning at all. I stretched before this last injury and was feeling good during the run and then it just seized up.

[Morgan]

I'm not the most avid player - restarted about 1 yr ago after quitting in college (about 30 yrs ago). I'm not sure how many more strains I'll put up with until I quit tennis for good. Can't go through this every few months -read that even good stretching before/after doesn't necessarily prevent the injury.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Morgan

I'm not the most avid player - restarted about 1 yr ago after quitting in college (about 30 yrs ago). I'm not sure how many more strains I'll put up with until I quit tennis for good. Can't go through this every few months -read that even good stretching before/after doesn't necessarily prevent the injury.

I'm rarely 100% healthy playing tennis. It is a tough game on the body.

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I hate to read this stuff. Best ways to prevent these pulls?

I stretch my calves on the tennis netpost a lot. I have dealt with calf cramps in my life that put me down, but no tears..thankfully.

Do you do separate stretches for both Soleus & Gastrocnemius? Bent knee & straight knee. Most tennis players I see only stretch with a straight knee.

[Morgan]

I think that's part of my problem. Not knowing exactly which muscles that I'm individually warming up/stretching.

Picked up some KT Tape yesterday. "Kinesiology Therapeutic Tape" - watched the youtube on the use - supposedly it aids in preventing the injury.

http://www.kttape.com/instructions/calf-strain-ii/


KT Tape provides excellent support for these muscles during unavoidable activity, reducing aching and tightness in the calf. This application also provides inhibition of the muscles to promote relaxation and healing.

[Posture Guy]

This injury is a bear. I'm recovering from one myself. Did stupid stuff, including coming back from it WAY too soon. Here's a key: just because it feels all healed up doesn't mean the tissue actually IS all healed up. Based on a combination of professional and personal experience, here are a few things I'd do:

1. Go see the best physical therapist you can find and get evaluated. I resisted this but I finally relented, went to someone who is expensive and doesn't take insurance, but also looks at the body in a far more comprehensive way than the typical PT. We found that my gastroc complex as a whole was firing properly but that when the medial and lateral segments of my gastroc were asked to fire independently (by rotating the position of the leg and then doing certain movements), they were almost shut down. I'm an exercise therapist by trade (but not a PT), and she taught me a few very useful new exercises to incorporate into my rehab. You want to make sure all the muscles of your legs and hips are working properly so you don't place undo strain on any one of them. Tennis requires a lot of 'ballistic' movement, much different than just running in plane. We are all well served to ensure our bodies are working in as comprehensive a way as possible.

2. 'The Stick' is a great idea. I also found a very cool company that sells some amazing products for self-myofascial release work. check out www.tptherapy.com. I ordered one of each of their products and I'm VERY impressed. I was using the smaller roller on my calf last night, especially on the soleus, and wow, it just does a much deeper, better job than I can do with a stick roller. and if you do foam rolling, get "The Grid". I already had 3 different foam rollers. Bought this one to try it out and I'm throwing the others away.

3. Use a combo of ice and heat to pump more blood through the injured area. That can help moderately accelerate healing and reduce scar tissue formation.

4. Stretch a lot, walk a lot, but do it to tolerance. Pain is a signal you're doing something your body isn't ready to do. Don't try to run until you can walk without ANY pain for at least 7-10 days. Try walking up steep hills before running, that's a nice test.

5. Once you start running, if you normally run where you contact the ground first with your forefoot (like the Pose technique), you may wish to consider temporarily going to heel strike. That will lessen the demand on the posterior chain of your leg. Then you can migrate back to a forefoot strike as your leg demonstrates it is ok with this demand.

6. Once you can do that ok, do some VERY light jogging backwards. Puts a very unique demand on the calf complex. Then once that's ok, I'd go out to a court and start 'running the lines'. Or you can do it in a park, or an empty side street. Do lateral shuffles, forward movements, backward movements, all that stuff. Make sure that all feels ok. Start REALLY slow and then ramp up. If those are ok, then go to sprints.

7. The zensah calf sleeves are a great idea. Use compression when you come back.

8. Static stretching has its place but not immediately before a match. Use charlie's advice on dynamic warmup. Once you start playing again, get to the court earlier than usual and go through a FULL dynamic warmup routine.

9. Engage in a leg strengthening program that doesn't just strengthen your calves, but strengthens ALL the muscles of your leg. When working your calves, make sure you are working both the gastroc AND the soleus. An exercise that works one does little for the other. Work on the hamstrings, work on the quads, the glutes, the hip flexors, ALL of it.

being out is a bummer but use this time to get your legs into the best shape the've been in for years and you'll come back better than ever. Good luck to you and keep us posted on your journey back.

[Champs990411]

Incredible advice. I've almost lost count of how many times I've pulled my left calf in the last 11 months. 5 that I recall. 4-6 weeks out with each. Coming back too early and not easing back really hurt me.

This last recovery I walked 1.5 to 2 miles every other day once pain subsided. Would jog just a bit at the end. Ice after. Also went to Home Depot and got a 4" PVC to roll on and really get into the muscle. Same trip I bought a board that I lean against the couch back and stand on, lean into, toe raise, etc.

To add to Posture Guy, I would advise everyone to stay well hydrated. Dehydration was probably a factor in some of my pulls as they occurred a few miles into a run, late 2nd set, etc.

PG: Can you expand on the heat/ice advice? What stage? One directly after the other?

[Posture Guy]

yeah, hydration is critical, great point.

re ice/heat, lots of ways to do it. What I'll usually do (and wait at least 3-4 days after the initial injury to do this, before then, just ice) is get a heating pad and wrap it around the injured area and use that for 15 minutes, then I'll ice the area for 15 minutes, then I'll heat it again for 15 minutes. Then afterwards, I get my massage stick and work the muscle, starting superficially and gently and progressively going deeper with slow, smooth strokes.

hope that helps.

[Champs990411]

Thanks. I'll do that right now on a different injury. (Doh.)

[Morgan]

thanks for everyone that has provided advice....will be careful not to return too soon....it's been three weeks, and I tried a very light jog (only started to bear full weight a few days ago). I think I better slow down. I'll hold off tennis for at least another 5-6 weeks.