Calf strain? When can you return to running?
So you've injured your calf and wondering when and how are you going be able to run again?
At Health and High Performance we are advocates of criteria based rehabilitation: this means that you must meet criteria to progress, not simply how long you’ve been injured for.
In order to begin to run, here are the criteria that can be used to progress:
Pain free walking
Seated and standing calf raise on AxIT within 10% of the uninjured side
25+ calf raises, <10% asymmetry
Calf raise height & bent knee calf raise height within 10% of the uninjured side
Bent knee calf raise endurance within 10% of the uninjured side
Double leg jumping: pain free
Once the above have been passed, you can resume jogging and slow running. But before progression to higher speeds, you should fulfill the following criteria:
Submaximal hopping on the spot: pain free and equal quality vs other side
Single leg jump onto 30cm box x 10 reps
Single leg landing from 30cm x 5 reps
Single leg hop for distance within 10% of the uninjured side
Reactive strength index (drop jump) within 10% of the uninjured side
Striding at faster speeds 50-90%
Fast change of direction running & cutting: increasing speed and cutting angles
Sprinting: 100% effort for 20m
Tips for running post calf injury
Avoid long slow continuous running initially, especially for soleus injuries as they don’t like long periods of time on feet
Run throughs of 60-80m distances are best for building early running capacity, using passive rest between reps and sets
Will usually resume running later than a hamstring muscle injury, do not try and run as early
Avoid "junk time" on legs, especially when skill based training has been introduced
Always program running before strengthening
Don’t run on consecutive days for a calf (even in low volume), and control "time on feet" as much as possible on off days