Vélo Cyclotourisme Marathon Triathlon Course à pied et Endurance

Portail Sport Endurance Running

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Calf Injury Prevention

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Calf cramp is the first stage of a possible injury. The runner feels pain in the inner or outer calf (the gastrocnemius muscles), or even deeper pain.

If the runner continues their effort and repeats the movement that caused the pain, they may move to the next stage, the muscle strain. The next stage after that is a partial or complete muscle tear.
The origin of the injury usually comes from repeated effort, especially when the muscle is tired. Fatigue here means that the body lacks trace elements, magnesium, and salts.

The immediate care to be provided is icing: a fabric bag filled with ice cubes, or a small plastic bag containing a gel that can be strapped to the area. Be careful not to put ice directly on the skin to avoid skin burns.

On repeated efforts over long distances, the muscle strain/muscle tear may be observed very early on, as edema may appear as soon as the calf cramp occurs. In this case, it is better to rest, eat properly, and monitor the calf cramp, acknowledging that a consultation is not far away.

The consultation should be done "preferably" (obligatorily) with a sports doctor, who may decide to do an ultrasound to see the condition of the muscle, a venous Doppler in case of large edema to avoid thrombosis (blood clot in an artery or vein), or even suggest the use of insoles to correct the sports gesture. The sports doctor will know how to balance between anti-inflammatory and painkiller (suppresses the sensation of pain).

Usually, it is the gastrocnemius muscles that are affected, but it may happen that it is the soleus muscle, which is located under the gastrocnemius muscles and causes deep, non-superficial pain. The soleus muscle has its base on the Achilles tendon. The good news is that when the soleus muscle is affected, cycling is not prohibited, at least gently!

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