Hill lover, suffering calf pain!

dohouch

Live in a very hilly area, and enjoy going up, maybe up to 2,000 metres in a 45 mile spin (6 or 7 climbs)
Have been suffering calf pain in my left calf for a few months now. After confining myself to flat country for about 3 weeks I had a go at a 400 meter climb last Thursday and am still suffering from it.

At least now I know that it is the extra effort that is bringing it on.

Have been stretching it 3 or 4 times a day but while I will go on doing this it does not seem to be the solution.
I can feel some swolen sore points in the left compared to right calf.

Been cycling about 4 years and maybe 50 to 120 miles a week. Came across an ad in the "Irish Times" this week for a vibro/infra red muscle messager (€61). Anybody got relief from using the likes of this. I really miss the hill climbing, also not being able to ride the hills really reduces my choice of routes by about 80%.

72hundred

dohouch wrote: »

Came across an ad in the "Irish Times" this week for a vibro/infra red muscle messager (€61).

Seems a lot of views on this thread but no replies as of yet!

I think your money would be better spent meeting a sports physiotherapist and going through the problem with him/her.

blorg

As 72oo suggests medical attention would make a lot of sense.

Also consider your choice of gearing, sounds like it could be you are pushing too hard a gear on the climbs?

Funkyzeit

The fact that it's on one side would defo point to a medical issue -
go to a chartered physio and they'll tell you where to start (you'll prob end up doing a LOT of core/hamstrings/quad exercises!!) - long term it'll be well worth it..

cantalach

Sorry, I was away and only catching up now. I suffered a lot with my calves starting about 12-13 months ago. It all started when I moved from somewhere very flat to somewhere very hilly. It took me a lot of time to get everything sorted.

Incorrect bike fit was the primary cause of my woes. Saddle height and cleat position in particular are absolutely vital for calf issues. Just stop reading now if you like, go check out the cyclingnews Form & Fitness archives. Read on below for my non-medical, non-expert summary of the issues.

It turns out that I had my saddle way, way too low. In such a case, you tend to go heal down at the top of the pedal stroke (particularly as you get a bit tired) and this stretches the calf muscles a little bit. Then when you pass the 1 o'clock position and enter the power stroke, the calves have to contract quite a lot to transfer the power from the legs to the ball of the foot. Strong contractions of a stretched muscle can lead to tearing!

If you go to the opposite extreme however and set your saddle too high this can cause calf or achilles problems too. If the height is such that a pronounced toe down is necessary at the bottom of the power stroke, the calf has to do a lot more work, and this effort is transferred via the achilles...

The trick, obviously enough, is finding the sweet spot between too low and too high. For some individuals it can be necessary to switch to shorter crank arms, but this isn't ideal as it reduces your leverage.

Cleat position is the other vital thing for calf problems. The portion of the foot between the ankle and the cleat effectively forms part of a lever system that transfers the power to the pedals. The greater that distance, the more work the calves have to do (and the greater strain on the achilles as a result). Moving the cleats back along the shoe shortens the distance, thereby unloading the calves. Some shoes and cleat designs permit more rearward positions than others.

Go and get a proper bike fit done - you really won't regret it!

dohouch

Really appreciate all the answers. Got me thinking a bit. I only started using cleats last November. I suppose at that stage I had a good summer cycling season behind me and was fairly fit. Didn't do a lot of miles over the winter. When I started to string the hills together come April I probably overdid it too soon.

I have played around a bit with saddle height, actually lowering it as I may have been strecthing a bit at bottom of stroke. Been using the same bike for 5 years.
Might have to bite the bullet (and heat up the credit card!) and go to see a physio. Acually made some inquiries today, about sports specific physios in my area.
I have, just today, tried more extreme calf stretching,(sharper angle at knee) and this seem to bring some relief.
A bit busy this week, so next week at least,before I will make contact with physio.

cantalach

dohouch wrote: »

Might have to bite the bullet (and heat up the credit card!) and go to see a physio. Acually made some inquiries today, about sports specific physios in my area.
I have, just today, tried more extreme calf stretching,(sharper angle at knee) and this seem to bring some relief.

In my experience, many sports physios have very little cycling-specific experience (e.g. "what's a cleat?"). It's not their fault - there are plenty of more popular sports which supply them with far more patients than cycling ever will. And you certainly do need to see a physio if you've got an injury. But unless you're lucky enough to find one who works a lot with cyclists and triathletes, I wouldn't expect them to be able to give much expert advice on bike fit.

Regarding calf stretches, keep in mind that you have two muscle groups in the calves. Bent knee stretches work on the soleus and straight leg stretches work on the gastroc. Both are used in cycling.

dohouch

cantalach wrote: »

Regarding calf stretches, keep in mind that you have two muscle groups in the calves. Bent knee stretches work on the soleus and straight leg stretches work on the gastroc. Both are used in cycling.

Yeah, am doing both stretches, bent knee and straight knee. Finding a physio with cycling-specific experience might be hard.

Been reading your link ""cyclingnews Form & Fitness"" and will try moving my foot forward ( cleats backward) . Actually I think I always suffered a bit from calf soreness, but changing to using cleats (and incorrectly set) could be the explanation for it having got chronic.

dohouch

Calf pain nothing do with calfs!:eek:
Haven't cycled since 6th Sept08. yeah after a super sh--ty summer I missed the last fine days. Did 30 miles on 6thSept, then on Monday the 8th went into town to go to gym, got off the bus and was so sore couldn't even walk as far as gym. So did nothing, gym or cycling hoping complete rest might be the answer. No improvement. Last friday saw Physio who gave me 55 minutes of her time for just €40.
Diagnoses: My glutes are in knots/ affecting my Sciatic nerve. Cause:Probablly overdoing step-machine in gym. Last May I decided 16 minutes at level 9 was not enough, so I started doing 32 minutes at level 11 (it only goes to level 12) fairly covers you in sweat. Never a one to do any pre or post stretching I may now be suffering for the lack of same. She gave me 5 exercises to do and already feel the difference.

Question: She applied pressure into me glutes ( I lept off the table a few time, bit like a dentist touching the nerve) and they are still very slightly sore. Is their soreness proof that they are the cause.?