Calf muscle pain advice?

  • For the last five months I have been working out on the ellipticle or walking outside. I have had dull calf muscle pain in my left calf muscle on and off. It comes about twice a week and lasts for about a day. If my husband massages my calf, it seems to go right away.
    This week I started running. I've been taking really long walks and alternating between running as far as I can and then walking for a few mins. Yesterday I did about an hour and a half of this and by the time I got home my calf muscle hurt pretty bad and has been bothering me all day today.

    I haven't gone to a doctor because I'm afraid they are going to tell me to stop working out for a while. Any ideas of how I can get rid of the pain without stopping working out?
  • Maybe try using ice/heat therapy- also consider resting for a few days and keep the left leg elevated a little, it's best to rest now in the hopes that it heals than keep straining the muscle and do damage that will have you out of the game for weeks.

    Remember to stretch before and after your work outs, if you don't already.

    Hopefully someone will come along with more advice.
  • I stretching after a workout is imperative -- you shouldn't really stretch before the workout because when your muscles are cold you could reallypull and hurt your muscles -- but you should definitely warm up by walking for 5 minutes to warm up your muscles before you start walking faster or running.

    Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate article... Hope this helps...