23rd June: Physio

For the first time in my life tonight I had physio!

I’d made the decision last week after dwelling on my Classic Quarter experience for a couple of days, as it seems from that race my troublesome calf is not clearing-up on its own.

It first surfaced in a major way on the Devon CTS Marathon just before Christmas, where I nursed it through the rest of the race. The muscle completely gave-out during a football match at the beginning of January and with my tight schedule for running it has not felt like it has properly got better, even when there has been 4-6 weeks between races.

Since January I’ve been nursing it around my races, as it is fine except from when I attempt to climb steep hills and whilst this is not a huge problem, being wary of it every time I hit a hill of any size is impacting on my enjoyment of the marathons, or any run for that matter, as I have to reign myself in rather than just go at the pace I desire.

A little while ago I carried-out some work for a customer in the next village along, and with her and her husband both being outdoorsy types we got chatting about the running. During the conversation she suggested that if I ever have any injury problems then to get in touch as perhaps she could sort me out through being a physio.

I dropped her a line after the Classic Quarter detailing the injury and I ended up having my first session today… Boy was that an experience!

After a good long assessment I now know I have a slight tear of a couple of centimetres in length deep inside the top part of my calf. This was massaged in a way that made me want to howl like a dog having its ears pulled-off, although straight after pain-wise it did ease-off when manipulated again! As part of the examination I now know my left calf is also stronger and more developed than my right, most likely through over-compensation.. I also have been informed I over pronate most likely due to the fact I have dropped arches, and I also have tendinitis in my ankle as well!

The tendinitis could also be an overuse injury caused by the ankle over-compensating because of the calf, but the over-pronating thing, well there’s nowt to be done about that, except perhaps get a proper gait analysis at a running shop and go for trainers that are specifically aimed at over-pronators

I’ve been given a daily program of exercises to undertake to stretch and strengthen the muscle. I’ve also been recommended orthotics for my right heel to stack it up so as to take the strain off my calf muscle. These are to be worn all day every day and to reduce them over time as the injury improves.
 
Here’s to hoping they work in ridding me of the niggle!