Mountain and Trail Running - Running: Preventing Overuse Injuries

Thank you!

IrishEyes — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:25:33 +0000

The tightness problem went away (a couple of weeks ago, sorry I'm so late posting) when I focused on my pivot point and pelvic rotation. Amazing that the way you swing and relax your upper leg has such an impact on your lower calves!

sore calf

sarahbees — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:52:28 +0000

This may be your body adjusting to a midfoot or forefoot strike rather than a heel strike.

I have heard many people describe temporary calf soreness after switching to vibram five fingers or barefoot running.

I've had lower calf soreness when I have run farther than I'm used to in the VFFs or temporarily when I switched my running shoes from a traditional running shoe to a more minimalist shoe with less heel lift.

The Chi running technique teaches a midfoot strike, rather than a forefoot strike to minimize any strain or fatigue in the lower legs. If I concentrate on landing midfoot and relaxing my legs as much as possible I can minimize or eliminate any calf soreness, even with running on hills.

Thank you!

IrishEyes — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:16:34 +0000

During yesterday's run I had to stop for a traffic light and used the time to stretch that area, and it helped a lot, at least temporarily. I'm going to check into The Stick - it looks like it would be good for a lot of the little sore spots that come up.

Development over time...

OldGoat — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:32:39 +0000

Running is a lot more intense than walking - no matter what style of running you do; likely your calf muscles just aren't built up enough, something that will happen over time.

Stretching the calf is usually helpful, but in your case sounds like massage might work better. Deeper massage warms up and loosens the muscle fibers, works out knots, relieves lactic acid build up, and makes stretching more effective. Some people roll on things like tennis balls. Others prefer commercial tools like the Stick and lot of runners use it or something similar. Hope this helps...

http://www.thestick.com/

http://www.intracell.net/

http://www.stretching.com/products/bodytools.asp

Note: Message has been edited by group admin.

Achilles Tightness

IrishEyes — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:57:25 +0000

Changing to the Chi style has done wonders for my legs for the most part - no pain in my knees, and no aggravation of my plantars fasciitis. But I keep getting tightness in my lower calves / upper Achilles tendons during my runs. It never gets bad, but it always happens. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? Thanks!