Calf strain

Calf strain certainly is a big problem amongst runners of all abilities.  Now more than ever with people transitioning to a forefoot strike with the lure of barefoot running.  The fashion at the moment!

In almost every case the common denominator to strains is the amount of time spent on the ground through the support phase in running.  For the heel striker the predominant problem will be lose in vertical height due to deceleration forces experienced on foot strike (otherwise known as the braking force).  The body will have to gain height somewhere in the gait cycle, which is gained by an excessive push off. 

For the newbie barefoot runner or fore foot striker the problem worsens.  The calf has to be used firstly to absorb the braking forces previously absorbed by the heel and its associated chain of events with the heel strike running form (which is not the same in good form running).  This heel strike form is hard to shake unless coached well which means that the calf will still have to excessively push off to gain more vertical height.  It is a wonder why the calves don’t explode.  Well what actually happens is near to this.  Most people transitioning from heel to forefoot strike will be walking around in pain for about 4 to 5 days after their first run.  This is a strain.

How to rehab a calf strain can be achieved through simply changing your movement pattern.  First we have to find out what kind of strain we are dealing with.  There are three types Strain; micro tears, partial tear and complete rupture.  A 4-5 day experience of delayed on set of muscle soreness (DOMS) is excessive micro tears.

Inflammation always has to be dealt with first by applying the strategy of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation).

In this video Kris was dealing with piercing pain in his heel.  Not quite a calf strain however this was his weakest link to a movement pattern that the majority of calf strains will be experiencing.   Not only is the calf having to excessively push off the back foot to gain vertical height as discussed above but also the calf is under great strain counter balancing the forward head posture.

The calf is meant to be free of stress so to be relaxed before the loading phase upon foot strike.  But when the calf is dealing with stability issues like forward head posture and commonly excessive pronation due to too much time spent on the ground, the calf is over activated which leads to strains.

Runners with good posture and rhythm come heel strike or forefoot strike tend to run injury free.

Kris was still slightly inflamed around the ankle (the injury was 6 months old) but by using ice buckets, elevation and my rehab techniques we were able, in the session, to de-flame the area and with the new movement pattern this in itself lessoned the aggravation.  Kris still wouldn’t be out of the woods until he completed a 6-week adaptation program, which he did himself to make the new movement pattern stick.  But he did walk out of the clinic painless and with new understanding in how to heal himself.

The foundation to this adaptation program is learning about the key holders to movement in your body.  These are the feet, the ankles, the hips and the thoracic spine.  Once these are functioning well, mobile and stable through full range of motion, then movement skill can be developed.

This moves me on to one of the fitness industries major calf strains rehab exercises; The Calf Raise.  I call this exercise looking over the garden fence.  Yes if you want to be good at looking over garden fences this is the exercise for you and will alleviate, temporarily the runner with bad form who pushes off the back foot.  

Running utilises a triphasic muscle reaction so your exercises should look, feel and sound like them to.  This is why I call my exercise the CALF RAISE REBOUND.  The only calf raise done is the first to get you up in the air  and off your heels.  The rest is letting go to gravity, rebounding at the bottom to spring back up to the start position.

This is the coordination your calf is looking for in good form running.  It is the elastic response it is looking for and therefore it is the type of strength the calf has been designed to adapt to in running.  Try it!  The calf will love you for it.

Please respect that the foot and ankle (for this exercise) have to be in good functional order before you start putting Plyometric load through it.  This said I prescribe this exercise in the first session with rehab patients once they have learnt my mobilisation program.

Read more about good form running techniques such as where true balance is gained from; Hamstring training myths.

About the author

Rollo Mahon has an academic background in Sports Therapy.  His academic journey has led him through various athlete performance accreditations where he has specialised in the science and biomechanics of barefoot running.  His search has been to find the solution to injury free biomechanics and therefore better performance, which has been cemented by the science of barefoot running.