Calf strain--I got hit

[Ronaldo]

Originally Posted by Morgan

Compression sleeves might work in the same manner as kinesthetic tape...reminds me to not make unnecessarily quick sprints to balls (middle-aged, here).

Find a partner with two legs and a racquet. Let him sprint.

[Chas Tennis]

Morgan,

You should do the calf conditioning before going back on the tennis courts especially if your life style tends to shorten/tighten the calves.

Did you see a Dr? Did you have any imaging that located your injury? Physical therapy?

What has happened, running activities, etc. in the months since your last reply in January when you were about to use a ball machine?

Great to hear that you are back as calf strains sound like difficult injuries to deal with.

[Morgan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...CkpEXqG-g&NR=1

good general guidance video for those who have this injury....

[Morgan]

Originally Posted by Chas Tennis

Morgan,

You should do the calf conditioning before going back on the tennis courts especially if your life style tends to shorten/tighten the calves.

Did you see a Dr? Did you have any imaging that located your injury? Physical therapy?

What has happened, running activities, etc. in the months since your last reply in January when you were about to use a ball machine?

Great to hear that you are back as calf strains sound like difficult injuries to deal with.

Never saw an MD - called my clinic and they said to go to the ER. I decided to self treat again (crutches, RICE). Next time it happens, I'll get a physical therapy consult for guidance and treatment. I need to be more diligent, especially after 2-3 hrs of tennis or running to stretch properly. I tend to stretch before, but not enough post-exercise stretching.

[Chas Tennis]

The flexibility and range of motion of the calves normally limit dorsiflextion of the foot.

I read in Stretching Scientifically(2003), T. Kurz, that one sign of a tight Soleus is difficulty in squatting. I believe that tight Soleus is a problem of mine. I have balance problems squatting (plus other ROM issues from an old knee injury).

To determine whether the range of motion of a joint is within some norm the ROM has to be measured or otherwise estimated (wall test, etc.). Here are some sites that bear on issues of measuring/estimating ROM for dorsiflexion, squatting, stretching, and some discussion of possible genetic dorsiflexion limitation, etc..

If injured, forcing stretches or measuring/estimating range of motion may risk farther injury.

I just started reading these links and have not evaluated them very much.....

Calf - ROM & Stretching (See the wall measurements for estimating ROM.)
http://www.raqs.co.nz/safedance/calf.html

Does stretching increase ankle dorsiflexion ... [Br J Sports Med. 2006] - PubMed (You can view the full text by clicking on the "Free.." icon upper right.)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16926259

Squat Technique & Ankle Dorsiflexion
http://www.maximumtrainingsolutions....Technique.html

Frozen Ankle, Ankle Mobility, and Squatting | Eric Cressey
http://www.ericcressey.com/frozenanklesuglysquatting

Calf Exercises & Stretches
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/Cal...#anchor1928832

High Performance Training, Personal Training Wall Bent Knee Calf Stretch
http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Soleus/Wall.html

Re: Reasons for Limited Dorsiflexion (Is the ankle just too stiff or somehow bone limited and tight calf muscles are not the limitation?)
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Arch.../msg00276.html

[Morgan]

those are helpful sites/links - I'll go through them all - thanks for posting them - and I'm sure others with the same injury will find them useful as well.

[chrischris]

Great thread.. i 'popped ' my left calf 10 days ago. need to digest and learn from you guys as i havent been very good at doing the right thing since then.
Used ice and cold showers for a while and steam baths with ice cold shower after , feels good.

[Morgan]

Unfortunately, I think once it has happened (calf strain), you're prone to a recurrence to the same spot. I had the same area strained twice, three years apart. Miserable injury.

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by chrischris

Great thread.. i 'popped ' my left calf 10 days ago. need to digest and learn from you guys as i havent been very good at doing the right thing since then.
Used ice and cold showers for a while and steam baths with ice cold shower after , feels good.

I have not had this injury but it sounds serious.

The healing right after the injury can be very important. It is hard to even walk around without stressing the calf so you should see a well qualified Dr.

[chrischris]

Originally Posted by Chas Tennis

I have not had this injury but it sounds serious.

The healing right after the injury can be very important. It is hard to even walk around without stressing the calf so you should see a well qualified Dr.

OK, yes i hope i will be fine. Are you a doctor?

[Chas Tennis]

No, not hardly.

I've had a few tennis injuries and try to inform myself.

I read some comments by a Dr to the effect that stressing injured tendons for a very short time can lead to tendinosis or defecting healing on the microscopic level (not tendinitis). People should take tendon injuries seriously right away.

I believe that playing on unknown injuries for a short time to 'see how it will do' and using pain killers results in a great number of avoidable chronic injuries.

What is your injury and should you now be in a boot?

[Crispvolley]

Originally Posted by chrischris

Great thread.. i 'popped ' my left calf 10 days ago. need to digest and learn from you guys as i havent been very good at doing the right thing since then.
Used ice and cold showers for a while and steam baths with ice cold shower after , feels good.

I just popped mine late last week. Went to see an orthopaedic surgeon and here is what my diagnosis and protocol is:

Partial tear of the calf muscle, apparently some people tear the Soleus which gives more pain towards the achilles, but mine is the inside calf muscle. I need to be in a boot/aircast for 2-3 weeks and wear a heel lift. My doc really stressed the importance of not stretching the calf during this time, and to keep if immobile so it heals properly. The nice thing is that with the boot on I am able to continue working out at the gym since it is keeping the calf from engaging.

Once the boot comes off I will begin physical therapy to help recondition the muscle and work out the scar tissue. The goal is to be back on the court competitively in 6-8 weeks. I imagine I will be on the court before then but only for light hitting and to test it out with some light running drills.

I am definitely going to be conservative in terms of not rushing back. I have a friend that tried coming back too early and reinjured it. He also did not go through PT and even though he is back on the courts now, he still has tightness in his calf and is very tentative. I am guessing that is a result of not letting it heal properly and not utilizing PT to help with the scar tissue and reconditioning of the muscle, but I don't know for sure.

[brianb76]

Im sure getting sick of this injury. 3rd time this year Ive had to take time off. One medium level strain last winter and two minor recurrences since then. Strained this time while serving. (go figure) This strain is actually on the lower part of my calf muscle not the top where was injured before.

Gonna try a neoprene calf sleve(McDavid) to keep it compressed and warm from now on, espically when its cool. I always stretch so i really don't know what else to do to prevent.

Any other ideas? Will weight training/strengthing exercises help prevent this from happening again?

[Posture Guy]

Just some basic things....

- when injured, do NOT stretch or work it in any way until the pain's gone

- the pain being gone does NOT mean the injury is healed. It means it's better enough that you can begin doing some PT on it.

- getting assessed by a physical therapist is a great idea. See what might be causing that spot to get undue pressure. Could be muscle activation issues, postural issues, functional problems, etc.....

- as you begin working it, getting deep tissue massage regularly to break up scar tissue and keep the new fibers oriented properly is a key, in my opinion.

- once you feel like you're all the way back, you gotta do some explosive movements. This, in my opinion, is where a lot of people don't take their training far enough. You have to re-teach the brain how to properly 'run' that muscle in a way to permit you to do what you want it to do. Tennis is very different than jogging, much more explosive movements, many 'unexpected'. If all your training is slow and steady stuff, the brain can literally 'forget' how to activate that chain of muscles fast enough to get sound and functional engagement. So something like plyometric work is a GREAT idea. Start easy, then build up.

When I injured my calf, once I got to the point where this was safe, I started by standing one step up from a stairwell landing, then jumping down onto the platform and landing evenly and softly with both feet. Would do that maybe 10 times, then move up a step, then another step, then another step until I was jumping down about 4-5 steps, trying to land like a cat, letting the knees and hips flex upon landing, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Then I did it again landing on one foot and alternating between the two. Only worked up about 2-3 steps that way.

Once I could do that, then I started jumping UP onto a box, or doing one legged hops over a small pillow, just slowly getting more aggressive with the movement.

Gotta retrain both the muscle tissue and the brain to accommodate the explosive movements tennis requires.

It's a crappy injury, good luck to all dealing with it.

[lostinamerica]

Well tonight I joined the club. Geez, this thing hurts. I once ruptured my other let's Achilles' tendon and I feared it was the same but higher up. It sure hurts to walk. Wish I didn't have to work tomorrow.

[Morgan]

Sorry to hear. It took me about a week to even be able to fully put weight on the leg without eliciting the stabbing pain. Thankfully no injury for awhile - but I know it can hit me at any time.

Good luck w/ the recovery. This thread has been very resourceful in what to do to treat calf strain injuries.