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Thank you for this insight. The main issue for me I think is consistency and patience. I'm always in awe of the disciplined strength and conditioning regimes people manage to follow. I'm seriously considering a personal trainer to help with this.
Single leg bent knee calf raises, and the higher number of reps, are worth a try. Core work all very familiar, though I don't use a gym.
Problem with stretching hamstrings is: when I bend forward I compress my sciatic nerve. I've had to abort running sessions if I've gone too hard warming up and inflamed my back, which Is extremely frustrating so I'm very careful now.
William.-
I’ll pm you the first “get back to running” plan I followed. It’s incredibly conservative, but might be worth a go if you can stick to it.
Perhaps try a different ham stretch - kneel on one leg, and stretch the other out in front for example. Also stuff like child pose, cat stretch, cobra pose, and so on are all good for back mobility
I think the punchline will be that there’s no silver bullet - you’ll have to start at a lower level than you’ve previously started from, and increase at a more conservative rate. Massively frustrating at the time, but worth it longer term
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A couple of things I learned while tackling my own calf problems :-
Use trainers that have a larger heel to toe drop, flatter trainers put a much higher strain on my achilles and calves. You could use orthotic heel blocks to try this theory out.
Percussive massager. I would recommend the Theragun Elite because of the app guiding it's use but you could achieve the similar results with a timer and list of activities. It took a week of targeted use to relax my calves when I first got the thing.
Stretching your calves before running is critical.
cookiemonster
Airhead
Hi - short answer is yes, I had (fingers crossed with the past tense) calf issues linked to sciatica. It took me many years to get on top of it, going through a constant build and injury cycle. I've a a number of things that together has worked for me - I cant really assigned a relative importance, only that, doing this, and continuing to do it, means that I dont get issues.
Also, normal for me is 5 times a week which would be a long run of 10 miles (8min/mile pace), one interval session (5 x 1000m @6:30mins, or maybe 800m up at Parliment hill), a 6 mile and a couple of 5kms. So, no 2:45 marathons or 50 miles ultra here!
Stretch hamstings and lower back , should be every day, but 4-5 times a week sufficient. If I cant touch my toes, I dont run. Stretching comprises a range of exercises, prob takes me 15 mins - nothing out the ordinary but is all about back mobility, hams, flexers, and the like.
Gym once a week for core stuff - again nothing surprising - unweighted squats, single leg stuff, planks, glutes, etc. If I've had a break then do this 2-3 times a week for a few weeks to get back up to a reasonable level
Wear barefoot shoes for day to day use (not running) - currently have these for general use for example.
Once a week short run in barefoot shoes - limit it to 5km max - and only when everything else is good
When coming back from injury or a break, start ridiculously slowly and build each week. Although this is number 5 its probably the most important. A first week is run/ walk 30s / 30s x 5, 2 minute break and then do all that 5 times. Increase the runs until happy to run 2km non-stop, then 3km, then 5km - all that over 4weeks. It feels totally ridiculous, but i know that if I go out and run 6 miles, then 8 then 10, I'll be fine for a month and then injured again.
Single leg bent knee calf raises - need to be able to do 3 x 30 minimum on each side. I think the sciatica lower the nerve response or something, so I get a weak calf on my left side very quickly, if I get a stiff back. Important to keep on top of that
And I can recommend this chap: https://www.central-health.com/ourpeople/kieran-odea/ to help with the structured running plan to get back up to speed and distance in a sensible fashion
Clearly no idea if any of this is relevant to your case though!