Posted in Blog.
October 11th, 2018
Common Running Injuries | Calf Strain
As runners, we are no strangers to injury. Googling is often our go-to when we feel some discomfort pop up, but can oftentimes lead us down a rabbit hole, or provide less than accurate information.
Doctor of Physical Therapy Raechel Bugner shares some of the common running injuries we see here at Finish Line PT, how you can diagnose them, and some recovery/rehab suggestions.
This week’s COMMON RUNNING INJURY:
Calf Strain
What is it?
- Pain in the calf muscle
- Feelings of pulling and tightness
Possible Causes:
- Usually over use of calf at push off to compensate for glutes (due to poor hip & ankle mobility)
- Poor control decelerating foot at landing (again compensating for glutes)
Rehab & Prevention Tips:
- Foam Roll Calves
- Dynamic Ankle/Hip Mobility (allows glutes to maximally load at push off of stride)
- Adjust your gait: transition to midfoot strike if you are a forefoot striker
- Train your single leg balance with exercises such as hopping, jumping (controlled)
