UKC

Hello!

I've been injuring my calves with heel-hooking on and off for about a year, and it's getting pretty frustrating!
I generally tend to stretch out the main bit of my calves, but the injury/strain seems to be happening towards the back of my knees.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to properly stretch out the back of the knee so I can avoid this?

Cheers

In reply to DanielGyi:

The issue may lie more with hamstring flexibility. 30 mins of stretching a few times a week (ideally at the end of a session) will do a lot to reduce this.

Source: was in a similar position, did the above to fix it.

In reply to MischaHY:

^^ what he said. Also, you have 2 major muscles in your calf, and need 2 different stretches to work on them, as I've found out when rehabbing an achilles tendon injury. I reckon doing both as well as your hamstrings should help with tightness and reduce injury.

In reply to MischaHY:

Ahh this may well be the answer. Thanks both - will get to work limbering up!

In reply to DanielGyi:

Google 'Neds flexy madness' for some good stretching tips from the man who just flashed V14.

In reply to DanielGyi:

Lots of injuries are caused by imbalances and deficiencies in other areas of the body, an example in your case as others have mentioned your hamstrings might be tight, or could it could be something to do with how your body puts pressure on your glutes if you cycle. I can't really tell you without looking at how you walk and do various movements.

It's worth taking on a full body stretch and strengthening routine to try and address these problems. An easy way of incorporating this into your daily life is 20-30 minute yoga sessions. Yoga is great because you'll usually find out pretty quickly how much stronger the dominant side of your body is, and it will work whole areas of your body that are under utilised. I follow this person's channel and try and do a session before work or straight after (feels good after being at a desk for so long.) https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithkassandra

I'm also concerned that you've said the injury has recurred over 12 months - it's definitely worth seeing a physiotherapist about it, lest you do something more serious/permanent.