Whether you just started running or a top athlete – you will experience Sore Calves from running. It is the most common problem every runner has. So, How to Get Rid of Sore Calves From Running. This problem is not only common to runners but also if you take a long walk or sometimes stand for a long time. If you are experiencing lots of pain you should take a break from exercise to heal your sore calf muscles. Injury to the calf muscles may lead to severe conditions that affect the blood vessels, nerves, or tissues. If you are experiencing calf pain for a brief amount of time, you should take rest to heal your muscles or consult a doctor. Tightness in calves can arise from a variety of conditions like nerve health or injury.
Most commonly the calf pain is due to muscle cramps.
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What causes Sore Calves From Running?
While most of the causes are short term and can be terminated with little rest or taking prescribed stretches below. There are few potential serious issues related to which cause severe damage like blood clots. Sore calves are most often caused by sports or standing for a long time. Age also plays a part in sore calves, increasing age tends to a variety of conditions from joint pains to nerve damage or tissue break. Usually, calf pain is due to damaged ligaments and it takes time to heal properly. But if you are can’t walk with sore calves you should take a break and consult a doctor.
Sore Calf or Blood clot
Blood clots are formed in the deep veins of the leg and cause the classic symptoms of swelling, redness, warmth, and calf cramps. One the contrary Sore calves are caused by the inactivity or poor movement pattern during exercise. Sore calves can happen to anyone while exercising or running.
- Factors responsible for blood clot
- Increasing age
- Pregnancy
- Obesity
- Immobilization
- Cancer
Calf Muscle Cramps
Also referred to as ‘Charley Horse’ is a contraction of calf muscles. Muscle cramps and are a major indication of future problems. These are occurred due to variety of reasons like improper shoe balance while running or sudden foot speed during any sports activity or running.
Calf pain during the night
This is due to the release of muscle tension from your feet. It sounds odd, muscles are in relax mode and we experience pain. It is just because the muscles are stiff and when they release their tension and muscle comes back to their original structure, we feel pain. Every human once in a lifetime experience calf pain during the night, so it’s no big deal, just put some ice born it and take a big break.
Massage Therapy
It is one of the most common procedures recommended by doctors. It is used for multi-purpose for health-related purposes, including to relieve pain, rehabilitate sports injuries, reduce stress, increase relaxation, address anxiety and depression. Massage Therapist uses his hands to manipulate muscles to relieve pain and body tension.
Physical Therapy
Sometimes muscles are tight or sore and movement of muscle is difficult. If you are experiencing this contact physical therapist. It helps to ease muscle pain and improve body efficiency or recover from any injury.
Methods to Get Rid of Sore Calves From Running (Immediate Procedure)
Sore calves are caused by excessive tension on calves during sports, where sudden exercise or excessive movement of legs. The sudden movement, imbalance while running are the main threats to Sore calves. We have included the best methods to treat Sore calves while running.
Stretching
Stretching the appropriate muscles will reduce the Sore and tight Calf muscles. Your calves feel tired when they are sore or tight. Below, we recommended some Calf muscle stretches to reduce pain in calves and heal faster.
Calf Stretch 1
This is the first stretch on our list to treat sore calves after running.
Steps:
1. Put your hands on a wall with one foot in front of the other.
2. Keep your front knee slightly bent and your back knee straight.
3.Hod this stretch for 30 seconds and switch legs.
4. Repeat this 4 times.
Calf Stretch 2
1. Hop on the Yoga Mat, and start with a high plank position.
2. Put your hands directly under the shoulders.
3. Straighten your legs and arms to maintain an inverted V shape posture.
4. Maintain this stretch for 1 minute and repeat 3 times.
Calf Stretch 3
1. Use a roll and put it right above the ankle.
2. Make sure your feet doesn’t touch the floor.
3. Relax your leg and pull it with the help of a strap.
4. Repeat this for 30 seconds until you start feeling tension in your calves.
Calf Stretch 4
1. Stand straight and put your one foot in front of the other.
2. Bring your front knee at 90 degrees.
3. Feel the stretch in your back knee calves.
4. Switch legs and repeat process for 3 times.
Calf Stretch 5
1. Hop on your yoga mat and rotate to 90 degrees.
2. Raise your one leg vertically.
3. Switch legs after 30 seconds.
4. Repeat this process for 3 minutes.
Procedure on How to Get Rid of Sore Calves From Running:-
* Rest for at least a day or two to heal your injured legs.
* To stop swelling from your injured leg put ice on the sore calves muscles for 15 minutes. Always put a thin piece of cloth between ice and calves and do this procedure 6 times a day or a minimum of 4 days.
* Swelling will gradually decrease by following this procedure. After 4 days use a heating pad instead of cold to ease the numbness in the sore calf muscles.
* Always follow the doctor’s prescribed medication.
* Take a break from all the exercise until you are fully recovered.
How to Get Rid of Sore Calves From Running in the future?
Past calf injuries are an indication to prevent those exercises and it’s important to try to prevent the same injury happening in the future. Muscle injuries tend to happen if you exercise, So to avoid it you have to follow these steps. When you exercise, try to:
Warm-up: Before starting your exercise, warm up your body by doing 5 to 10 minutes of walking, doing yoga poses, or rope jumping.
Comfortable Shoes: Prefer New shoes old shoes provide less support to joints and ease up your activity.
Wear compression sleeves: These are worn over lower legs to reduce vibration while running and also help better blood flow.
Physical Therapy: Tight or Sore Calves, can result in future injuries, so may want to try physical therapy to improve your muscle imbalances with customized stretches.
Massage Therapy: Massage therapy will reduce the pain and muscle tension.
Work on your overall fitness: Just Calves exercise is not enough, every muscle should be exercised to reduce future injuries.
Stay hydrated and Maintain a Healthy Diet: Drink plenty of water and eat a well maintained healthy diet throughout the day.
After Exercise: After competing for your exercise, cool down with about 3 minutes of easy jogging or walking and 5 minutes of stretches.
Avoid any sports or training while having sore or tight calves.
Don’t ignore sore or tight calf muscles. If you are experiencing constantly sore calf muscle consult a doctor to remove any serious conditions. After your full check-up and stretching you should be back in the field.
