After my last couple of HIIT sessions my calves have been hurting to the point where im hobbling...not terrible pain but enough to make me stop running. I have been running in cheap Dunlop walking shoes, I think this could be the problem. Today I tried out my dads running shoes and they were better, though i still felt the pain afterwards which i think could be due to only 24 hours rest since the HIIT session. It would be hard to answer over the internet but do you think this pain could be due to the shoes? And what can I do to stop it?
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Pain in calves after running...is it the shoes?
- Thread starter Gus1
- Start date
The shoes would be #1 on my list of suspects, yes.
great shoes, always do a light warm-up, stretch properly next for at least 5-10 minutes, warm-up again for your heart rate, HIIT and then finally cooldown. It amazes me how many of my friends go brazenly towards a HIIT session and then forget all the other steps that prevent injury.
Shoes cause a ton of problems. I am a big believer in running in minimalist shoes, but before making the switch to mimimalist shoes (or even barefoot running), you need to stretch and strengthen your calves and glutes. A good 10 min 4 times a day for a few days. Then work on good running form. I hope this helps.
Sounds like an overuse injury to me. Your calves will toughen up (or you'll quit). I don't think shoes make that big of a difference with calf muscle injuries (shin splints, yes, and for that reason don't run in your dad's mall walker shoes). As for stretching in general, I think it's overrated in preventing muscle injury and some feel static stretching does more harm than good.
Sounds like an overuse injury to me. Your calves will toughen up (or you'll quit). I don't think shoes make that big of a difference with calf muscle injuries (shin splints, yes, and for that reason don't run in your dad's mall walker shoes). As for stretching in general, I think it's overrated in preventing muscle injury and some feel static stretching does more harm than good.
Mall walker?
Whereabouts on your calves? High? Low?
Mall walker?
Sorry Gus, I misread your first post.
For me - when I started running - my body changed from my feet upward. Every time I would get an 'overuse' injury I needed new shoes because the way my feet were hitting the ground was changing. This happened all the way up to my hips. Now I can wear shoes for years without getting an injury from them. (Prior to this I was changing shoes every 6 months running around 20 mi. per week) When you first start out though - your body is going from a walking body to a running body. Change your shoes. I am very frugal - and when my muscles were stronger a few years later I was able to go back and use my old shoes without injury (the expensive ones I bought early on but then had to changed when I got an injury). I realized this because I happened to injure the same leg part twice before changing my shoes (this may have happened more than once for me because as I mentioned - I am very frugal) - but then I never got another similar injury after I changed my shoes after each injury. In retrospect - I would have changed my shoes after that first indication.
Also - I tried to run though my calf sore/tight injury years ago - and had to learn a valuable lesson. When your gait is affected by an injury - you are too injured to run. I can still spot people who are trying to run through that sort of injury when spring hits. It's rough - but for me at least - it hit at a time when I was so excited to be running - and loving it.
Good Luck - running is so great I wish everyone could experience it.
Also - I tried to run though my calf sore/tight injury years ago - and had to learn a valuable lesson. When your gait is affected by an injury - you are too injured to run. I can still spot people who are trying to run through that sort of injury when spring hits. It's rough - but for me at least - it hit at a time when I was so excited to be running - and loving it.
Good Luck - running is so great I wish everyone could experience it.
Gus, if you ended up buying new shoes, could you please let us know if they made a difference, cheers!