Training & Nutrition - Pulled....something

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Yesterday i went for whopping 6km to the bank and back, and decided to stretch when i got home. Did the calves, the quads and when i went to do the hamstring stretch on my right leg i got a sudden resistance right below the calf muscle above the heel. I immediately stopped. I am certain i did not overstretch, i simply felt that i was pulling a rope. Now i can't fully extend my leg unless i point my toes all the way down. If i bring my toes up and my heel down to make my foot level, it feels like i'm pulling a rope and ripping it, so i can't lock my knee and have my foot level. I can walk somewhat alright, i can stand on my toes and i think i can even bike if i wanted to, and there is no pain when i'm sitting, it's just a bit of a tight feeling below the calf muscle. Didn't find anything swollen etc. But i can't properly extend my leg. Any ideas at all? Haven't had one like that before. I don't think it's the calf muscle, has to be something near it or whatever else is in there.
Sounds like some kind of achilles tendon injury. If it doesn't get better I'd go see someone.
Hm the resistance is above the tendon im sure of it. Right below the two main parts of the calf muscle. When you point your toes down and see the bulge at the back of the leg, it's right below it. I can move my ankle without problems when the leg is bent. I'm just curious what else it might be, if it's not the muscle. What else is in there?
The_Spaniard
07-12-08, 10:21 PM
ok try focuing your stretch ont eh low calf, then try focusing stretch on the upper calf just to make sure, ounce you feel pain tho stop wouldnt want you to injure yourself more. theres a couple of ways, the one i use is you put your toes upward towards the sky and pu tthe tip of you toe against a wall so that your toe is forced to point upwards then lean in with your body with a straight leg for upper calf then bend your knee for lower calf. theres 2 muscles in your calf lower one is below the upper one. If it doesnt heal do what they said above see a doctor. I know a guy who tore his achiles tendon, trust me its not fun. From what i hear extreme pain for about 5 to 10 minutes than it completely goes away and it feels like you are fine. This is cuase you just tore the nerve there completely so it doesnt transmit pain after 5 to 10 minutes. They say it feels like someone kicked you really hard in the back of the leg when your achiles tears.
wagathon
07-12-08, 10:35 PM
Sounds like your hamstrings if you can't straighten your leg. I guess you're lucky if that's the reason because for me, pulled hammys cause pain. If you don't think riding the bike actually may have been the cause of the problem, then I guess your seat is not too high.
Thanks for the tips guys. Seat should not be a problem, been riding it for 3 years at its current setting. It was really weird since i had just began the stretch and i felt resistance. Yeah there was no pain when i did, just the resistance, and there is no pain now, just a tight feeling when i am walking or trying to straighten the leg.
The_Spaniard
07-13-08, 05:35 PM
maybe a massage would help, if its a trigger point type problem stretching actually might aggrevate it, try getting a massage then try to stretch and see if that helped.
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