Author Topic: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain  (Read 823 times)

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AnotherOldSkater

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Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« on: December 08, 2021, 08:52:32 AM »
Not sure if there is an injury thread already, but wondering if anyone here has fought through a pulled/strained calf muscle? I strained mine over a month ago and can't seem to move past it. I rested, iced, physical therapied and even after doing this routine for 5 weeks i still can't push for more than 15 minutes before the strain comes back

Anyone been through this? Wondering how long it took to heal and what you did to recover from it?

unregisteredhypercam2

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2021, 10:09:02 PM »
massage gun

S.

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2021, 01:03:17 AM »
Definitely rest for a bit longer. I had the same issue. I got some kind of experimental shots from a sports doctor. I was back skating within 6 weeks. It wasn‘t completely healed. Getting back too early somehow fucked with the balance of my muscles and contributed to a really bad chronic inflammation of my ancle. It took me forever to heel that one.

Take another few weeks off. Do light exercise where you do not feel pain. Do some yoga and balance exercises. Can hurt to massage yourself with a black role or something. Cold or hot baths are good as well. It helps with the healing process.

GliderSkateboards

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2021, 04:15:38 PM »
Fellow old-ish skater here (32)...I bought a massage gun and use it for about 5-10 minutes on my thighs, calfs, etc. prior to skating. It helps loosen up / shorten my warm up time. Helps me a lot

Ray C. Usery

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2021, 04:59:08 PM »
Keep doing what you're doing but expect it to last about a year and it comes back real easy.

Once it's no longer panful do this to keep it from coming back
https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=108723.msg3676020#msg3676020

layzieyez

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2021, 10:52:20 PM »
« Last Edit: December 10, 2021, 12:28:10 AM by layzieyez »

AnotherOldSkater

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2021, 03:21:00 PM »
I got compression sleeves and it helped heal them faster. Not this particular brand but here's a link.

https://www.amazon.com/Udaily-Compression-Sleeves-Women-20-30mmhg/dp/B07S534JNX/ref=sr_1_25?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&keywords=Calf+%26+Shin+Supports&qid=1639124805&s=hpc&sr=1-25&ts_id=4989442011

I have compression sleeves that I used for my knees when I was recovering from back surgery a couple years ago. I'll try these out for the calves too.

AnotherOldSkater

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2021, 03:22:32 PM »
Thank you everyone for the responses. There seems to be a consistent theme of massage gun and rest. I'm definitely going to invest in the gun and do my best to rest. I hate sitting on my ass but i think it needs to be done so this stupid thing goes away

rocklobster

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2021, 10:52:46 PM »
Foam Roller too, the sharper the knobs the better! Using mine right now, you never know the specific muscle group is sore until you start getting it rolled out.
Venture Truck Height:

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FORGED - 2.04” - 51.82m

Bongwater Mojito

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2021, 04:14:55 AM »
Not sure if there is an injury thread already, but wondering if anyone here has fought through a pulled/strained calf muscle? I strained mine over a month ago and can't seem to move past it. I rested, iced, physical therapied and even after doing this routine for 5 weeks i still can't push for more than 15 minutes before the strain comes back

Anyone been through this? Wondering how long it took to heal and what you did to recover from it?

First, I'm sorry to hear you too have this. You might want to rest more than 5 weeks, let me share my experience with a strained calf muscle.

It was spring 2019, first dry days after winter here where I live. I was so stoked to skate that set up a cruiser for groceries, pushed uphill in +5C, right out from my door, without any warm-ups. I was 42 at the time, and this was a bad mistake. After few days of grocery runs (I deliberately did it every day just for fun), pushing leg calf started acting up. I did not listen to my body, and soon it was way too late. Ended up in ibuprofen loop where I rested for 3-4 weeks eating painkillers and then tried to skate again, just to get the pain back immediately. This kept repeating the whole summer, until August, when I landed a heelflip over a corner full body weight dropping on my back foot calf. Probably tore it, immediately fell down yelling from pain. No walking properly for 2 weeks, decided to close the season there. Next spring I was scared, as I couldn't even run more than 3km without getting some feeling in the calf. Stayed in skateparks to avoid pushing as much as possible. Summer 2020 it was ok again.

So, rest carefully, skate transitioned parks if possible to avoid pushing, don't expect too much and have fun. It'll go away but it really takes longer than one could expect. I think I could've saved half a year easily if I'd been more patient.

goddamnyou

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2021, 06:53:58 AM »
I'm 39, and I stopped skating for about 2 years, and I've just started back up again a few months ago, when I first started I felt like my pushing calf was always strained, and it would always re-strain no matter how much I rested.

What actually fixed it was using a lacrosse ball to foam roll the ever loving shit out of it, so it wasn't an actual strain it was a "calf-heart attack" which is a pretty common thing for older runners.

Ever since I foam rolled the shit out of it, it's gone away completely.

fuhkin_powahfood_kid

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Re: Recovery advice for calf muscle strain
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2021, 03:40:04 PM »
single leg heel drop and raises on a step or edge of ledge. 3 sets of 10, 3x day. do each side separately to prevent over compensation on stronger side. this will also help build equal strength on both sides.

self massage. rub the crap outta area. tiger balm. cbd ointment. icy-hot. ben-gay. get to know that area with your hands. find the places that need the most attention and give it.

dandasana or staff pose in yoga. sit up straight with legs stretched out in front of you. press heels away, draw toes back toward the body. you may sit w back against the wall for core support. this is a great, fairly passive calf stretch.

pay attention to how you walk. i can't stress this enough- strike with your heel first, the roll onto ball of foot... I was a toe walk and runner for most of my life and had endless calf aches. no joke, did a workshop on walking and it changed my life.

stay off the sled for a while.

If you plant ice, you’re gonna harvest wind