Now I'm no stranger to tweaking a calf muscle. Done it plenty of times, managed it carefully and got back to running in due course. But, almost without exception, when I've had a calf injury, I've had to be careful not to put the calf into stretch, because that aggravates it.
And then I got a calf injury last weekend about 7 miles into a 13 mile run, on a hard landrover track, which seemed to be worse on the downhills and flat than the ups. I shuffled back, with the pain less if I kept the knee locked, suggesting to me it could be in the soleus.
However, since then, I can't feel it at all if I put it into stretch. But I can feel what feels like bruising across the calf, probably a couple of inches above the achilles, quite central but radiating out. And I can feel it when I'm walking downhill or when I put the foot into plantarflexion. To that extent, it almost feels like a "compression" injury rather than a stretch one, if that makes sense.
Any thoughts? No real problems before this, apart from a very slight achilles niggle after an 11-miler the week before, but nothing to write home about.
Edit: And, just to add, although it all felt sore earlier in the week, I can rise up on my toes without difficulty right now, and without any noticeable pain.
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