Any runners / physios?

ollyridesfirst

I've been cycling now for about 3 years and am a fairly strong swimmer so was looking at some sprint triathlons next year, however as much as i stretch and warm up, within 5 minutes of running my calves are solid and my achilles are also very taught.

I have previously seen a physio who advised me to stretch more and gave me a few painful massages on the legs, but i can't seem to get through to her that no amount of stretching seems to work?

Just wondering if anyone else has had to same sort of issues or can give any other advice that i might not have tried? I've heard that cycling shortens the hamstring muscles which in turn pull at the calves, but don't quote me on that? Very frustrating!

jgsi

Well I wouldnt advise stretching before exercise anyway as a first... if physio said that then that was a bollock dropped.
Running / football is probably worse than cycling for shortening the hamstrings for a second.
I think you need to re think, re jig your run training for a third

d87heaven

How do you run? Do you land on your heel or forefoot?

Tom Butcher

How much running have you done ? Might just be a case of starting slowly and building up - if your calves are tight after 5 minutes then run for 4 minutes !

ollyridesfirst

land on heel and slightly over-pronate however i have trainers that counter this and have reduced it from about 13 degrees to about 3 degrees.

Surely stretching/warming up is a given for any exercise?

Tom Butcher

Warming up yes, stretching no - not deep stretches anyway - mobilisation of the joints yes.

I doubt stretching pre-exercise is the issue either way though.

MatthewBulmer

Very hard to say. Did the physio do a full postural assessment with you testing hamsting, glute, lumbar spine flexibility? They should have done. In my experience tight calves are often linked to lack of flexibility in these muscles. All this is guessing, obviously.

ollyridesfirst

I initially went to her for a problem with my hip flexors playing up on longer rides, and this was a kind of side issue.

siamon

Do you have to stop or do you run through it? & do you know what speed you are running at?

My calf's take the brunt of it when I do very slow recovery jog's, but on a tempo run there is no problem.

If your running gait requires more movement from the achilles than the other exercise you do, and you are already fit, you could have a fair bit of strength resisting the new movement. Running requires a very different muscle response from different muscle groups to cycling,

Also, you say you have stability shoes, do you have another pair of neutral cushioned trainers that you could try? Stability shoes tend to have stiff soles which may not help some people.

mamba80

i had tight calves with a few injuries as well and by changing (shoes) to a lower heel to forefoot drop(with far less support) and shortening stride to land more on the midfoot, issues went away.
good luck

ollyridesfirst

siamon wrote:

Also, you say you have stability shoes, do you have another pair of neutral cushioned trainers that you could try? Stability shoes tend to have stiff soles which may not help some people.

I do have my old Nike+ runners, so might give them a try, but they are very soft.

I generally try to run through it, but once the pain moves into the achilles it becomes more of a shooting sting and that's me done!

siamon

Did your physio mention tendinitis or tendinopathy? This can manifest as a shooting pain (from mild to vicious)

Can you detect any swollen areas on the achilles or lumps poking out?

Also when you said the massage was painful, was this just a deep tissue massage on the whole leg (which can be quite sore) or was it specifically more painful on the achilles?

ollyridesfirst

yep....achilles tendonosis has been diagnosed by 2 physios now.....although i can't feel anything irregular apart from it being very tight (but i'm not a professional)

As for the massage, it was deep tissue and was mainly to loosen up my upper legs due to the hip problem....some nerve getting trapped....i can say it but can't spell it ;o)

siamon

In which case they've probably already given you the calf raise on the step exercise which is apparently the most effective solution, ibroprufen etc. Mambas advice about shortening your stride (placing your foot down under the hip) rather than heel striking it may also reduce the stress on the achilles. And check your cadence is above 80.

ollyridesfirst

ibuprofen is absolutely useless.....never works for me at all. Cadence is normally above 90 anyway...

Just bought myself some sort of strap for my achilles which is supposed to help so i'll give that a try over the weekend i reckon

siamon

Agree about Ibroprufen! Please report back on the strap.