Calf Flexibility & Strength

Calf Flexibility & Strength

So far in 2016, I have been treating a lot of people who have either recently begun a running program, or have increased their running volume in an attempt to get faster. These individuals tend to have a common problem; pain in the calf and shin region.

When diagnosing these patients with a history of beginning running or increasing running volume, we always want to rule out conditions such as tibial stress fractures and other serious pathology. This is only the case in the minority of cases. Most commonly, the cause of the patient’s pain is an overload to calf muscles from increased training volume. Patients will present with tightness, weakness or a combination of both in their calf muscles.

The good news is that with the correct exercise program and physiotherapy interventions, these issues can be easily corrected!

In addition to improving calf strength and mobility, your physiotherapist with also look at other factors that may influence your running. These include full running analysis, foot arch position and strength and mobility of the gluts, hamstrings and quadriceps muscles.

If you have recently begun a running program or are looking to increase your volume of training, come into Next-Gen and get yourself checked out to prevent the onset of any injury.