calf strain following an ankle sprain

[bugbomb]

I sprained my right ankle (I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if was a grade two, but there was a pretty severe "pop" when it happened) a few months ago playing basketball.

I was hobbling for a few weeks, and fully expected to be unable to lift. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt to squat at all (due to keeping the knees back), though cleans were out. I actually took my squat worksets from about 350 to 370 while recovering from the sprain.

My ankle is more or less fine now (I can tell a slight difference in ROM compared to the other), but I have an unusual pain in my calf that has been more or less consistent since the injury. The pain is on the outside of my right calf, and is most intense when I "crouch" on my toes to pick something up. When squatting and driving through my heels, very little pain.

I'm curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar or has suggestions on how to approach it. It does not hurt to run or walk - only stand up from a crouching position, placing weight on the toes.

[Tom Campitelli]

I know that when I sprained my ankle, it fucked up a lot of lower leg things for a while. I managed to do both sides of my ankle at once and it swelled up to size of a softball. If you get on a foam roller in this area (or your calf in general), does it hurt? If so, I would use a roller or a lacrosse ball (if you like pain) and get after it. That might help things to move along.

[LimieJosh]

I started ART about 2 weeks ago for a recurring calf injury thats been troubling me for about 12 months. I never considered the root cause of it was a lateral ankle sprain from years before until the Chiro asked me about my history with that sort of injury.

Whether his assessment is correct I do not know. However, he correctly predicted the presence of a previous injury, and started a treatment regime based around the expected "healing" process from a lateral ankle sprain that has provided an amazing degree of improvement in my condition in just a couple of treatments. Take from that what you will.

[bugbomb]

Thanks guys - very helpful. I foam roll to loosen up my quads, but it actually hadn't occurred to me to try and roll out the calves. Duh.