calf pain and marathon

[ctjim]

i am 49 years old. Planning to run 3rd marathon in October. When I upped my mileage to over 20 miles/week i began experiencing muscular pain in back of leg at the calf. I have had this pain in past years when I have increased my weekly mileage -- always in right calf, never the left. Worst problems occur after longer runs of 10 miles or more. I have increased my stretching prior to running. When I have had this pain in past, i have taken some time off and experienced no pain when I went back to running. But I VERY MUCH want to run this upcoming marathon and can't really afford lengthy time off. Any suggestions????

[Heidi]

Hi,

You are right to stretch more, keep this up. Have you tried sports massage? You will find a couple of these will really help.

Apart from this, you need to find out why this tightness is there. It is more than likely, given that it is on one leg and comes on over longer distances, that it is due to a biomechanical probelm higher or lower in the chain. That is either in the feet, or in the knee, hip or lower back.

Have you had your gait assessed? Not just the foot position, which I am sure you will have given your marathon experience. But the whole lower leg. For example, weakness in your hip abductors (glut med and min) may cause the thigh to rotate inwards and the knee to look like it collapses in. This places a rotational stress on the knee and lower leg which may be causing the calf to tighten up!

Of course this is just one of many scenarios, but highlights how important biomechanics are to your running. I would recommend seeing a specialist who has some exerience of this if possible. Have a look at our find a clinic pages to see if there is anyone near you:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/clinics/indextherapist.php

Good luck!