Shin and Calf Injury
Since running
tends to exercise the calf muscles more than those
in the front, runners are most prone to lower
leg injury. Every lower-leg injury has its specific
biomechanical causes, all rooted in tight calf
muscles and relative weakness in the front leg
muscles.
Your tight calves exert force on your
heel, which in turn pulls the front of your foot
down.
The muscles in the front of your leg eventually
become the receiving end of the strain. Unfortunately,
these leg muscles are not strong enough to resist
the pull.
The
shin and calf are one of the most likely
portions to bear the brunt.
One of the
most common shin & calf injuries
is the corked calf.
Fortunately the corked
calf is not serious and usually settles down
within 1-2 weeks.
But on very rare occasions,
the corked calf can exacerbate to a compartment
syndrome. Calf strains and shin splints are
common shin & calf injuries.
For one,
a calf strain may be gauged as grade one,
two or three, relative to the gravity of
the condition. In a grade one calf strain,
the symptoms may not be obvious present until
after the activity is over,
when a sensation
of cramp or tightness sets in. In a grade two
calf strain, the pain is more immediate and
more severe than the grade one injury.
Usually,
a grade two calf strain feels sore at contact.The most severe has to be a grade three calf
strain.
The sensation of burning or stabbing pain
immediately sets in. The athlete is usually impaired
of all walking propensities without pain.
The
muscle is completely torn; there may even be a
large lump of muscle tissue above a depression
where the tear is.
As with the grade two calf
injury, internal bleeding will be palpable in
a few days. By and large, one should refrain from all strenuous
activity for three weeks if one is in convalescence
with a grade one calf injury.
Those afflicted
with grade two calf injuries should do so for
about 4 to 6 weeks. In cases of complete rupture,
one will have to undergo surgical treatment wherein
subsequent rehabilitation will take about 3 months.
To defer shin & calf injury, one must undertake
proper warm-up prior to matches, coupled with
a goof cool down thereafter.
Training is suggested
to prevent muscle stretch injuries because the
muscle is more extensible when the tissue temperature
has been increased by one or two degrees.
Diet high in carbohydrate provides the adequate
impetus of energy apt for muscle contractions.
Conversely, deprived of fuel, the muscles become
susceptible to fatigue, which in turn predisposes
a player to shin & calf injury.
Shin Splints
Shin Splint is often colloquial parlance for
Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, an irritation of
the tibia (shin bone) at points where the soleus
and tibialis posterior muscles attach to it. Those
who suffer this shin injury must endure pain on
the inner border of the tibia during exercise
and also at rest.
Treatment
Most patients respond to non-operative treatment
as shin & calf injury exercise. Shin injury
exercise involves rest, strengthening and stretching
exercises, followed by a gradual return to running
after symptoms subside.
Pes planus (flat feet) or pronated foot position
(a lowered arch during running) is a common cause
of this medical condition, which can be identified
by a biomechanical analysis administered by a
certified physiotherapist or podiatrist. Some
persistent cases of Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
resistant to conservative treatment may necessitate
surgery though.
One can still maintain fitness during recuperation
period with special shin injury exercises like
using non-weight-bearing exercises in the swimming
pool.
