Advice required: how to stop pain in calf musclesafter running

[LittlePushka]

Does anyone have any advice or experience to share with me on how to avoid and how to treat pain/tenderness in my calf muscles after running. (Hurting now, still, 12 hrs after a 5 mile run.)

I do briefly stretch them with two exercises before I go and after I return:
(a) standing balls of feet on a step and dropping my heels below the tread and
(b)standingfacing a wall one leg in front of the other and "sitting" down.

But always they are painful after I do a run... do I need to strch them more (how? how often?) or do I need to massage them or ice them.

its really afftecting my motivation to increase distances and I really want to avoid serious injury (oh,..and pain )

How long have you been running?

If you have only just started give yourself time, your miscles are hurintg becasue you have not used them like this before, until they get stronger they will hurt.

Warm up beore you start, walk before you run and run slowly to start with.

Also, I do a 20 minute stretching routine after a run, perhaps even though you think you are stretching it is just not effective and you are not doing enough?

Hi Overmydeadbody,...

Running on and off last year but ony ever up to about 3 or 4 miles. This year I have been out two or three times a week for about six weeks. (I only ever run slowly about 12 minute miles)

My calves are the only place I "feel" it afterwards. May I ask, do you have a specific post-run stretch routine? Also,.. how specifically do you warm up your legs?

Gosh, never even thought to go see a physio! I just assumed it was something I was/was not doing correctly. good point maryz.

hmmm you've been running long enough that it can't just b tired muscles.

Warm up by walking and then increasing the pase slowly until you are running, I an no expert though.

I just do 20 minutes of Calanetics stretches, it's the routine from the end of the one hour calanetics workout.

Are you sure it's not just the normal pain one gets after doing excersise?

I would say you need to stretch longer afterwards. I do about 20 minutes stretching leg muscles (and hips as I tend to feel it there)

And beforehand - are you stretching cold muscles? Don't do that - warm up a bit first, slow jog, then stretch a little but don't overstretch cold muscles.

Bottomknocker - that a good poit about stretching cold muscles - I never thought to strech them after warming them - I just go to strech straight away. Doh!

overmydeadbody - I am not sure about normal musclepain but I know that they are still stiff and quite tender to touch even now - 36 hrs after my run....and that seems a bit extreme! Especially as it is the only place I get any sort of stiffness.

I am going to google calanetics streching and I think I will also incorporate a couple of mid-run stops early in the run to stretch my calves when they are a little bit more elastic.

Thanks for you help!!