Calf pain

raymond82

Since I remember, I've always had calf problems while biking. Recently it was quite bad and it felt like the tendons were irritated but I solved that by lowering the saddle. However, I still keep having muscle pain in my calves. I guess that's kind of normal but today I even had it after a long but very slow bike ride. This makes me think that it is a problem with the position on the bike, I've messed with saddle height, cleat position etc many times but never managed to solve the problem.

Any ideas on how I can tackle this?

Thanks!

gaddster

Get a proper bike fit and stop guessing..

raymond82

I considered that, obviously, but was told that there wasn't much point in doing a bike fit when not buying a new bike. I was hoping to get some advice, so I can narrow down the guessing a little bit.

Grill

raymond82 wrote:

I considered that, obviously, but was told that there wasn't much point in doing a bike fit when not buying a new bike. I was hoping to get some advice, so I can narrow down the guessing a little bit.

Whoever told you that is an idiot. As above get a proper fit.

raymond82

Whoever told you that is an idiot. As above get a proper fit.

It was the bike fitter himself...

Isn't there anybody who can give me a hint? Maybe from personal experience?

Grill

Name and shame. No proper fitter would give that advice.

Sprool

Theres loads of general 'rule-of-thumb' info on the internet and youtube about saddle height, cleat position, etc., but although this may give you an idea if you're in the right ballpark its no substitute for an experienced professional checking out your bike size and your own dimensions and advising accordingly.

superfourben

As you haven't mentioned it... do you stretch your calves regularly/after a ride? Do you warm up a little before cycling?

raymond82

As you haven't mentioned it... do you stretch your calves regularly/after a ride? Do you warm up a little before cycling?

That's a good point, I don't stretch very often since I usually forget but I do warm up. I also forgot to mention that in addition to the pain I usually find "knots" in the calves, almost permanently. A long time ago I tried running but had to give up because of cramps in the calves. That suggests that the calves might be the problem, not so much the position on the bike maybe.

seanorawe

Your toes could be pointing down at the bottom of your stroke. In my fit he pushed my cleats all the way back and the problem dissapeared for me

matthew2811

http://www.the-stick.co.uk/ I bought the Sprinter Stick for working on my calf muscles as I had a lot of knots from running. Works well. After running or cycling I use the roller on my calf and quad muscles and then stretch. As somebody else mentioned, moving your cleats backwards a bit on your shoes will reduce load on your calf muscles. You may need to lower your seat a touch though if they move far back.

goonz

Sounds like your calves are too tight. You need to really stretch them and also foam roller them. Get a foam roller and search youtube for calf foam roller exercises.

I'll bet you will be crying in pain when you first use it. Do it.

Calpol

raymond82 wrote:

As you haven't mentioned it... do you stretch your calves regularly/after a ride? Do you warm up a little before cycling?

That's a good point, I don't stretch very often since I usually forget but I do warm up. I also forgot to mention that in addition to the pain I usually find "knots" in the calves, almost permanently. A long time ago I tried running but had to give up because of cramps in the calves. That suggests that the calves might be the problem, not so much the position on the bike maybe.

It sounds like you have a pre-disposition to tight calves. This can be caused by a number of things but I would suggest that whilst you may consider investigation by a podiatrist or sports physiotherapist it may be worthwhile doing some stretching also. There are a load of resources on the net to recommend calf stretches. Heel drops are one of my favourites. I also use a foam roller on my quads, ITB and calves to stave off any chronic issues. Salt/mineral tabs in your drinks will help if you are cramping due to fatigue. Don't crank too high a gear and see if some one can advise on any fit issues. I suspect the bike fit isnt a massive problem and that you just have tight muscles/tendons.

raymond82

Thanks for all that advice!

I already moved the cleats backwards, that improved the situation from an injury-like pain to just muscle pain. I didn't yet lower the saddle though so I'll do that too, maybe that will already help.

I found some stretch tests in Bicycling magazine and found out that most of my muscles are pretty tight! I'll start doing stretches daily and I'll also have a look at foam rollers and the stick, they both look very relieving!

Thanks again!

dnwhite88

A fitter told you there was no point getting a proper fit on a brand new bike?! I'm yet to hear of someone (in person and on here) who has invested in a fit and not recommended it to others, if you've spent the money on the bike, isn't it worth getting somebody to set it up so you can enjoy pain free miles?

raymond82

A fitter told you there was no point getting a proper fit on a brand new bike?!

Nono, that would be quite ridiculous! What he meant was that he thought there wasn't much use in getting a fit when NOT buying a new bike. Actually, I think he meant when not buying a custom sized bike. I don't think I agree with that and will get a fit once I have some spare money. To be complete, I have to say that the bikefitter did take a quick look at my position on the bike and gave me some good advice (one thing was moving the cleats backwards like suggested here).

Grill

He's still an idiot. If you get a proper fit you can translate the geometry to any bike, old and new. Saying you need one solely for a custom frame is ridiculous. He doesn't sound like a proper fitter, just a shop monkey. What shop is this?

mikenetic

Doing stretches is well worth the relatively small amount of invested time. Look at using a roller to work on your ITB as well. That can be quite uncomfortable, but it will help loosen things up along your leg. A lot of this stuff is interconnected.

raymond82

I'm definitely gonna get me one of these rollers, I saw some movies and it looks a lot easier than massaging your calves with your hands. I'm also gonna use the timed alert on my Garmin to remind myself to stretch while biking, I guess it is good to do (some of) the stretching already while biking and the muscles are warm. In addition I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to do heel drops every day. Lots of good input to work with!

raymond82

My foam roller arrived today and I just tried it out, a very painful experience!

For how long do you do these exercises, for a fixed amount of time or until the pain is gone?

goonz

Search youtube, very simple, easy to follow videos out there. The first time you will be crying in pain but keep at it and let the pain slowly subside. It might be painful but its a satisfying pain if you get me?

raymond82

Yeah you're right, the pain is satisfying. I also have to get myself some mat or whatever, cause now I'm doing the exercises on a wooden floor which is not too comfortable. I found the videos, the exercises are very nice and simple but what I couldn't find is for how long you have to keep doing it. Is it until the pain is gone?

The ITB exercise I just tried, bloody hell!!

goonz

raymond82 wrote:

Yeah you're right, the pain is satisfying. I also have to get myself some mat or whatever, cause now I'm doing the exercises on a wooden floor which is not too comfortable. I found the videos, the exercises are very nice and simple but what I couldn't find is for how long you have to keep doing it. Is it until the pain is gone?

The ITB exercise I just tried, bloody hell!!

Hold each point for about 3 long breaths or I think 20 secs, if you can. At first you wont be able to but slowly it will get easier. Then when the pain is less, you can begin to add more weight e.g. rest other leg on top and lift your body off floor with arms.

With the calf muscles, begin where the lowest part of the calf muscle starts and instead of rolling up and down, roll side to side, when you find a knot, stop and press, then roll until you find the next one. Then move up slightly and repeat.

The ITB is a killer but again will get easier after the first few attempts. Also do hamstrings, butt, and quads especially the part that ends just above the knee as this is newly developing muscle and hurts a lot.

raymond82

Thanks for the tips! I actually already noticed that the pain in the ITB was less after the third time I did the exercise. I'll try what you said about the calves, I also noticed that depending on how I position them on the roller they hurt more or less. I'll look into some videos for the other muscles that you mention.

Dezza

I'm on my 4th week of daily stretching and rollering due to knackered IBTs. The roller is relatively pleasant now compared to the painfest of the first week. Keep it up!

Drfabulous0

I'm quite surprised nobody has yet posted this:

Rule #20
// There are only three remedies for pain.

These are:

If your quads start to burn, shift forward to use your hamstrings and calves, or
If your calves or hamstrings start to burn, shift back to use your quads, or
If you feel wimpy and weak, meditate on Rule #5 and train more!

Dezza

Drfabulous0 wrote:

I'm quite surprised nobody has yet posted this:

Rule #20
// There are only three remedies for pain.

These are:

If your quads start to burn, shift forward to use your hamstrings and calves, or
If your calves or hamstrings start to burn, shift back to use your quads, or
If you feel wimpy and weak, meditate on Rule #5 and train more!

Then visit the physio because your kneecaps feel like they're trying to migrate to the back of your legs.

raymond82

I'm on my 4th week of daily stretching and rollering due to knackered IBTs. The roller is relatively pleasant now compared to the painfest of the first week. Keep it up!

I'm quite happy with the foam roll, in spite of the pain I do feel it's helpful. i guess that's what makes the pain pleasurable. And I keep my kneecaps happy!!

raymond82

Last week I biked around a 100 kms and yesterday I did 140 km Fleche Wallone with no calf pain anymore. Well, at least the didn't hurt more than the rest of my legs but it means that between slightly lowering the saddle, doing more stretches while riding and at home and (near) daily use of the foam roller I managed to tackle this problem quite well. Of course I'll continue doing the exercises, but I'm happy it worked so thanks for all the input!

The only problem is that yesterday I had some severe back pain but that could have been because of all the climbing that was involved in the Fleche Wallonne. a lot can be found online about back pain so I should be able to find a solution for that, if I can't I'll do the bikefitting as suggested.

Gav888

I'm curious to see that how your getting on, its almost a year later, are you still getting calf pain?

I am in the same situation as you so interested to know how its going

raymond82

I'm curious to see that how your getting on, its almost a year later, are you still getting calf pain?

I am in the same situation as you so interested to know how its going

Interesting you bring this up, it hadn't really been on my mind anymore which I think shows that the problem is much less now. I already reduced it quite a bit by lowering my seat but then suffered from back pain and eventually had a simple bike fit and after that the calf pain is more or less gone. That is, the pain I would sometimes have after relatively short rides I think was due to my seat being too high. Nevertheless my calves are still a weak spot, I always have knots in the muscle and they always feel a bit sore. I think my calves are just very tight and that's why I have to go back to doing exercises I think, I was using the foam roller and doing heeldrops daily but I got sloppy with it and haven't done them lately.