injury to gastrocnemius, lateral head

[Q.]

I'm not positive about the identification of the muscle but that's what I got from my Strength Training Anatomy. Actually, my problem is where this muscle attaches behind the knee. I think it started in the gym, maybe the first time I tried jump squats. It wasn't too much of a problem and I kept working out although I let off on the sore spot. Last weekend, I was playing basketball and it was still a little sore and I did something to make it a lot more sore. I couldn't push forward, mostly, and was limited in jumping, also. I played through it hoping that it would "loosen up"... it didn't (DUH!). I came home and iced right away.

I worked out all week in the gym and tried to take it easy on the leg stuff. I could do squats okay with easy weights but still had trouble with the running 'cause I couldn't push off well.

It got better every day and I thought I'd lay off basketball this week on Sunday. Sunday rolled around and there I was... back on the court. It flared up again and I'm icing right now.

I guess the only thing to do is to rest it until it's COMPLETELY healed although I want to keep working out in the mean time. I guess I can miss one Sunday of b-ball next Sunday. However, I'll still go to the gym during the week and just try to work around it.

What I'd like to know from one of the experts is (1) do the symptoms sound familiar and (2) does my therapy sound right? I found this article but couldn't find anything that was real clear on how to treat it. It's probably the usual - RICE - but thought I'd ask.

Q

[Q.]

Sorry, I meant medial head, not lateral.

Q

[Bill Hartman]

RICE, gentle activity, progress to normal speeds and loads without symptoms. You're on it!

Bill

[Q.]

THANKS!!! Does the symptom of being able to upward better than forward sound like the muscle I identified might be involved? How I treat it now won't change but I was curious if how I identified it sounded reasonable.

Q

[Bill Hartman]

Yes, the jump upward uses more elastic quality so the gastroc is less active on the concentric.

Bill

[Kaiser]

I thought you said you gave up basketball?

I think I've finally hung up the old sneakers after about 15 years of steady play. My brother-in-law would play regularly with me and he hung it up recently. He's a doctor and he cited that the majority of weekend ER visits by males under age 50 are for......you guessed it: basketball injuries. Over the past few years, we've sent people to the hospital with much more frequency, and you start to wonder whether it's worth it. At least I did. I'll still play the occasional pick up game at the gym, but my regular hoops days are over (as are sadly, my tackle football days...playing with guys in their early 20s up unitl 2 years back, I noticed that they would run off the field after the game and I would be limping. Plus, very few of them were married, or had kids).

[Q.]

[first of all, see signature line ... that may explain a lot]

After a five year hiatus which began as an attempt to protect my knees so I could walk as I got older, I resumed play about six weeks ago after extensive consultation with a certain well-known physical therapist/training advisor. I noticed that weight training - especially squats - have resulted in me having little to no knee problems when I manage the time I spend each week playing b-ball. I used to play 3 to 4x/wk and that became too much so I quit altogether. Now, once a week for a couple of hours is all and the knees are fine.

Of course, other parts of me took a little time to readjust to that kind of workout again but the current injury was only aggravated by playing... I think it actually started in the gym doing jump squats for the first time. The calf was sore when I started playing a week ago but I played anyway, which made it a lot more sore. Then I didn't let it heal up adequately before I played again the following week.

So,I'm back and, so far, lovin it! I know my limitations but it doesn't mean I have to give it up altogether.

Q

[Bill Hartman]

Outstanding!

Here I thought you just went to the gym to check out the pretty girls.

Bill

[Q.]

Originally posted by Bill Hartman:
Here I thought you just went to the gym to check out the pretty girls.

Bill

Hey, whatever gets you through the doors, right!?!