10 Mar 2014

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Why are my calves always so tight?

Calf pain after an injury is expected but runners and gym lovers often complain of calf soreness with no history of trauma to the area. The key here is identifying the cause and rectifying it.

Calf pain usually follows a predictable pattern – the pain develops over time and usually feels worse after running and gym work. The calf may feel tight then the pain subsides a little but the calf often continues to feel tight for a day or so. You may find that your heels rise when trying to do a full squat or perfecting that jerk and clean is near impossible due to ankle mobility. Don’t despair there are things you can do to help!

The answer to why this happens usually has 2 parts to it;

1. The calf is being overloaded
2. The calf muscles are weak or lack endurance.

 

 

Overloading the calf

The first question here may be what’s changed recently that coincides with your calf problems?

Common causes can be introducing hill or speed running, increasing weekly training and increasing training intensity. It’s also very common for people transitioning to barefoot running to have calf pain. This great blog discusses barefoot running.  

There is a cumulative effect to exercise that can be quite subtle. If you train regularly you might be quite accustomed to training on heavy tired legs. You can become unaware just how fatigued muscles are getting. I developed calf pain after running in a new pair of North face rigid trail runners and it took a month to release them!!

So what can you do if you think your calf is overloaded? I have a video on my website showing a three step self management program for treating tight calves.

Assessing calf strength

The easiest way to do this is a single calf raise;

An earlier blog I have written describes how to do this and why.

The single calf raise is very effective to strengthen the calf. Do as much as comfortable, rest for 1-2 minutes and repeat for 2-3 sets. Aim to work up to 3 sets of 25-30 reps. Do this 2 or 3 days a week on days that you aren’t training. You can progress to the edge of a stair to allow for greater range of movement by letting the heel drop below the level of the step.

So the main take home message is if you have tight calves you need to release them first, then aim to strengthen them over a six week period. Dry needling massage, dynamic stretching then strengthening is a great way to eliminate the chance of developing tight calves.

Author – Andrew Ross owns Go Go Physio, a mobile physio and Pilates business operating in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He is a great believer in fixing the cause of injury instead of treating the symptoms, even if that means less time on the table!