Peter Beck Kim's Other Blog

On post calf tear day 13, one of these two bumps doesn't belong here...

The one on the right is my soleus muscle -- that's the calf muscle that connects to the middle of the lower leg bone, and therefore doesn't affect knee movement.

The one on the left is my all beef patty-sized hematoma, or blood bruise. Only moderately tender to the gentle ministrations of my main PT, Chris, and his trusty PT aide, Becca "the Hammer," aka "Man Hands."

This is squarely in the upper middle of my gastrocnemius muscle, the calf muscle that actually crosses the knee joint as it attaches to the lower thigh bone. Hence, the difficulty walking without keeping the knee bent, with a definite gimpy limp -- gimpy, that is, unless you wear a rocker-bottom boot like this:

The draped knee-to-ankle neoprene sleeve? Couldn't have survived the first week without it; it contained the alien spawn that was my blood bruise and injured capillary beds trying valiantly to break free of the confines of my lower leg whenever I stood upright. Gravity, don't you know?

Started with an ACE wrap, graduated to the sleeve once I could pull it on without manipulating my ankle and passing out.

Today's routine: ultrasound to start, then expert hematoma mobilization and softening plus scar fiber molding parallel to the muscle grain, then active and passive stretching to get the foot past 90 degrees (finally!). From there, some new exercises and homework for basic quad, VMO, and hip adductor strengthening. Then 10 minutes on the recumbent bike, finishing with about 10 minutes of icing while getting e-stim:

Green light on the gentle kettlebell swings, which haven't caused any discomfort (I don't have a stationary bike at home). Time until transitioning to an elliptical walker: 2-3 weeks. Another 3-4 weeks transitioning to graded (Pilates shuttle) jumping, and careful jogging.

After running becomes possible, the real calf work begins, to re-prep for beyond basic daily activity stuff. Am working now to build other bases (bodyweight pushes, pulls, core work, and squat prep).

It's going to be a long road. Long, but very educational.