Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Calf or hamstring slight tear – Immediately after?

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    • 01/17/2014 at 6:01 pm #70728
      AvatarYuan Li
      Participant

      I have jumped on board the mwod express And have stopped icing started mobilising etc. BUT if I suffer a calf tear/strain or hamstring tear or strain what do I do immediately after.? Generally there is not too much swelling in a calf strain so do I immediately start compression and mobilisation? Do I start smashing / voodoo band etc? I have followed the K* model and trying to ween myself off orthotics after 10 years and gone to vivobarefoots and trying to address my running mechanics but I over did it yesterday and felt calf go a little. I put a compression sock on overnight anything else I can do? I definitely didn’t ice!

    • 01/18/2014 at 6:00 pm #73840
      AvatarYuan Li
      Participant

      Anyone?

    • 01/18/2014 at 6:47 pm #73841
      AvatarAnonymous
      Guest

      Changing running technique, transitioning from orthotics, and transitioning to a flatter shoe is alot to do at once.
      Moving to a flatter shoe asks more out of your ankle rom, heel cord, achillies, calf and foot.
      Is your foot strong enough to wear vivobarefoots?
      What is the difference in heel size from your past running shoe compared to the vivobarefoots?
      If there is a big difference you will need a transition pair between the 2.

    • 01/19/2014 at 1:55 am #73846
      AvatarYuan Li
      Participant

      Thanks K – yeah i have gone to a Merrell bridging shoe today….but in referecne to the question regardless of the shoe if i do actually do some damage to calf/ hamstring as i have done in the past what do i do immediately after? Now that icing is out i am guessing i just compress wait a few days mobilise and smash/floss?

    • 01/19/2014 at 9:15 pm #73852
      AvatarAnonymous
      Guest

      What you do following an injury will depend on the injury and the degree of the injury.
      What is the cause of the calf/hamstring damage in the past?
      Sounds like a running technique issue.
      An MWod Model for Post Surgery/Post Injury Rehab
      Post 400: Movement Hierarcy- Movement Complexity, Injury Rehab, and Making the Invisible Visible
      Episode 65: Recovering Slack, Post Injury

    • 01/21/2014 at 9:28 pm #73876
      AvatarYuan Li
      Participant

      Ok thanks again K! You are absolutely correct in that it is a running technique issue. I’m working on that with Brian Mackenzie’s book and at the same time adapting to the flatter shoes no orthotics. So I recognise there is going to be some hiccups along the way as the body adapts. So I am smashing calves,feet Achilles etc.
      The videos you linked were great but were relevant to what I would call catastrophic injuries and rehab ie the busted clavicle and acl surgeries and the long road back. I am aware of the upstream downstream work on the positions of restriction pain.
      I am talking about the general strains and minor tears in hamstring or in my current case calf which i have aggravated again yesterday doing DU’s. So my question is when I do slightly strain do I now compress and rest then after a few days smash floss? Do I smash floss straight away. I don’t ice anymore so what’s next. Do I just try and free up shin ankle knee etc while waiting for calf to repair?

    • 01/22/2014 at 11:35 am #73881
      AvatarAnonymous
      Guest

      I recommend having some video you running so you can see exactly what you are doing vs what it feels like you are doing. Are your heels touching the ground?
      When changing running mechanics sometimes the heel is not touching the ground which causes the calf to always be contacted i.e. active. An active landing can cause several calf issues.
      Relaxing the ankle is key and addressing the foot is another key.
      Pro Episode # 59 – Reclaiming those Gnarly Feet
      Daily Rx May 8

      Doing double unders my guess is your heels weren’t kissing the ground. Again an active landing.
      You need to address the technique/mechanics that are cause these issues to occur.
      Without addressing the cause they will continue to happen because you are addressing the symptom not the cause of the problem.
      Depending on the extend of it would determine how soon you smash, floss, give it time etc.

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