Problem is the Calves Not the Achilles Tendon

© Austin "Ozzie" Gontang, Ph.D.

Tendons for all intent and purposes are not suppose to stretch. The muscles above the Achilles tendon, soleus and gastrocs are suppose to do what muscles do: Contract and relax. Your calf muscles are contracting but only partially relaxing. When a knot in the calf occurs it tightens up to protect itself and won't let go when you stretch it. If you continue to stretch, you stretch the good muscle fiber on either side of the knot. It, over time, gets over stretched and joins the knot. The end result is that you end up saying, stretching doesn't work. It would if only you could stretch the knot.

First work out the knot in the calf. Sit down. To find it, put your belly of the calf muscle over the knee of the other leg. Move the knee back and forth in the belly of the calf and you should find the knot. Remember when a muscle is sore and contracts, in the contracted state it doesn't let you know it's sore, until you start to feel around.

Put your calf muscle over your knee, a railing, the back of a chair. Remember >it's the back of the calf muscle. You put the belly of the muscle over the >back of the chair, or railing or knee. Slowly (lovingly) rotate it back and >forth, that is side to side about a inch. Slowly move(slide) the leg up or >down the back of the chair, etc. so that you "lovingly massage side to side >the entire belly of the calf.

Remember it you go too deep, too fast, too hard, you will only get the muscle to tighten up even more---getting the opposite of what you want.

But remember your body is a system, so you may take the pressure off the Achilles, but the calf may be due to an overly tight shin muscle which only partially relaxes when the calf muscles are contracting, causing the calf problem. And the shin may be cause by the quad or ham from the other leg being >tight so that you get more impact on the leg with the calf problem caused by >the shin problem caused by..... And the reality may be due to the way you sit >at your desk all day in poor posture which causes.....

Anyway, see if you can massage out the calf. Then you can slowly start to think about the form and style of running.

Let me know how it goes with the calf. Remember, what I'm sharing is folklore. That is, if it works use it. If it doesn't, don't give it any energy, Just chuck it out and look for something that makes more sense and works.

Remember "DO NO HARM"