Calf ache one side??
 

Hi,

I have been having calf ache for a number of months now and despite having a professional bike fit, taking it easy and stretching I cannot sort it out.

The ache is the medial gastrocnemius on the inner side of the calf, it seems to e a lot bigger than the other side, to the point it is only 1cm from hitting my water bottle holder!

I have tried the usual, lowering the saddle and done this in mm increments until it felt really too low and my knees ached. I have also gone the other way and raised it bit by bit and still it makes no difference, evening moving the cleats back and forward to both extremes and saddle fore and after, nothing sorts it.

I am now thinking its foot support?

My bike position is comfortable for hours and I get no aches anywhere apart calves.

So would adding some arch or heel support make a difference? Maybe my feet are slightly rotating inwards I that makes sense as when cycling I feel a bit of pressure on the outside of my feet.

Any ideas please as this is now bad enough it's stopping me riding.

I forgot to add, I stretch daily and my wife massages my legs as well (lucky me :))

Lots of possibilities besides a fit issue. For example, it could be a muscle strain which hasn't been allowed to heal. How old are you? If you are "older," it could be from peripheral vascular disease, which can cause calf pain when exercising. At least a good idea to check out with an M.D.

I have the same issue in that the right calf tends to cramp. This has lessened over the past 3 years which indicates it is a leg strength issue. What helped was to move the cleats as far back as possible. These are Shimano mountain two hole cleats. Using a round file, I elongated the holes as much as possible, 10 mm and also files the metal plate in the shoe so that it would move back enough to line up with the cleat bolts. This helped quite a bit and as legs have gotten stronger the problem has all but vanished. I've also begun, just in the last few months, doing calf strenthening exercises. Cycling is repetitious so if anything physically is even a small amount off in you or your setup, you are going to feel it eventually.

I had this issue (left calf) when I started cycle commuting the first week of June. Had that bike fitted to me, and the pain went away completely. Got a new bike a month ago and all was well until I got it fitted last week; he moved my seat MAYBE 5-10mm forward, did not move it up or down at all, and extended my stem from 100 to 110mm. First ride (22km) that afternoon and had horrible calf tightness all weekend. Took all of my various self massage balls, rollers, and torture devices to loosen it up. Going to work on some calf strengthening, but it seems that there was some correlation with my fitting...

Will be following up with my bike fitter; will repost after :)

I had calf muscle issues for years and about four months ago started wearing compression socks for varicose veins. I don't have the burning or cramping any more. The difference in comfort is nothing short of amazing.

I have had medial gastroc pain for months. It is never acute but it won't go away. Doctors suggest that it is tendonosis. I have barely ridden in months owing to this - the tightness and the soreness show up after about 10 miles of riding - if I ride further or ride hard, the pain is worse.

Two months of physical therapy (eccentric calf stretches) have not helped appreciably.

Lowering the saddle and moving the cleats back, thereby limiting ankling, has helped just a little.

Just thought I would post an update, since this I have been speaking to Steve Hoggs about my fit etc and he basically said its a stretching issue, ie a lack of it. He asked if I could do a flat footed squat (asian squat) which I can't so said flexibility is the issue... mind you I have never been able to do this and I have been riding for years without calf issues, so although I need to work on flexibility I doubt this is the issue.

I think its more of a calf strain as I have the bike in the same position as I have done 4 or 5hr rides without any issues, and I have issues, so it might be that the calf is strained and tightened up to let it heal.

Saying that, I havent ridden the bike for 4 weeks, its driving me nuts but I need to give it time to heal, but its almost like the aching is getting worse, not better, even walking now aches my calves...

Saw the Dr about it, he referred me to a physio, however this guy charges £70 an hour which I cannot afford... so a bit lost now... I will keep resting and using the roller on my calves to see if it gets any better but I suspect this is more of a long term thing :(

I've just remembered as well, when I was cycling 5 or so weeks ago I remember getting bruising on both calf muscles, I thought it was weird as I hadnt hit them to cause the bruising, but I ignored it and carried on cycling... thinking back now I should have taken that as a warning sign and rested up!

Taking any medications supplements?

Gav88: a physio will just give you exercises to do, and you might be able to find much of this by yourself on YouTube or similar. Look up "eccentric calf exercises"

These have helped me some, but very slowly

sounds very familiar. I've been dealing with the same for half a year and it has more or less wrecked my (cycling) life

Have you checked yourself out for DVT, the non impact bruising and calf pain could be sign

MinnMan, not good mate, I hate no riding for a week let along that long... I really hope mine does clear up in a few weeks but let's see.

Its not DVT as I saw the Dr and a physio this week, they said its a Grade 2 Calf Strain which takes 4-6 weeks to heal :(

I highly recommend "the stick". I use mine daily and has reduced my normally significant calf pain to zero. I have been using it for the past two years.

i have/ had calf pain/ foot pain for over a year. After paying a podiatrist and getting compression sock and orthotics, which did nothing, I saw a friend who is getting his Doctorate in physical therapy. He suggested stretched for a good 30-45 seconds both calves. It has made a huge difference for me. Still gets a little tight after running but it also could be because I forget to stretch it regularly. I do think I have some sort of fit problem on my commuter because I rode my road bike beginning of this month 44 miles and was not sore at all.

I think part of my issue and maybe yours as well might be muscle imbalance stronger quads vs hamstrings. If I focus on pulling up while I ride it evens out and does not hurt as bad. I also have hit the weight room to do some exercises and that has helped as well.

Just my $.02 i hope you find a solution that works for you.