Physio webchat with Matt Todman

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  • Six Physio wrote (see)
    IronCat5 in the Hat wrote (see)

    Hello Matt,

    I seem to suffer from tight calves, which in recent months has caused my left achilles to become inflammed and sore to touch/pinch after running & racing.

    I've taken it easy over the past month in training to allow me to race hard on two occasions. Each race has required a long warmup to get achilles to work. The day after each race I have been stiff but not sore, even on the achilles.

    My last run was a 10km race on the 6th May. Today my achilles is not sore to touch when extended, though there is feeling if I pinch it when slack.

    I'm now on a proper rest from running though still cycling to maintain fitness.What can/should I do to resolve the calf/achilles issue, and yet allow me to smash a 5km run at the end of a GBR qualifying triathlon on the 26th of May?

    Many thanks.

     

    Hi

    I'm not so sure you've got tight calfs...but instead you've got calfs which are being used at their end of their range and so feeling tight. Look as far over your left shoulder as possible. Your neck feels tight, but you'd never dream of stretching it further to the left.

    I wonder if your shoes are controlling the amount of pronation (rolling in) your foot does, which produces a continual over stretch on the calfs?

    If the shoes are good then go for getting stronger rather than getting more lenght. And instead of stretching your calfs try releasing them a la foam roller. The RWIC has some great video clips

     

    Thanks Matt.

    I tend to over pronate so have motion control shoes, though my pace has really picked up over the past 6 months. Could it be that at faster paces my pronation changes?

    I have recently bought some neutral shoes for short races.

  • Six PhysioSix Physio ✭✭✭

    Hi

    Absolutely. The faster you run the quicker the pronatory movement the more control is needed. I still think you're running at the end of your calfs available range so you need to protect this range by either your shoes doing it or your foot does it by getting your calf stronger in a neutral foot positIon. 

    Lots of calf raises but make sure you keep you foot in a neutral position when lowering down. 

    Irs always good to race in lites as long as you've got enough control in the training.....

  • How on earth did my rubber hat comment get in here?

  • Well said, having a thread like this stickied for 3 weeks now is overkill in the extreme, can't RW limit it to a a few days?

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