Squatting calf pain

Bmac63095

Bmac63095

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I get this sharp pain when I hit ATG squats on the way up from the bottom only way it goes away is either when it's lots of time in between squat sessions and/or when I wear a copper tone sleeve in my knee/ upper calf. Anyone know the cause?
 
UnicornDrpns

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Sorry I've never had that sort of pain. I've had pain in my quad , adductor or knee areas when squatting before but never my calves.

How's your stretching routine?

I have noticed that if I don't self fascia release (aka foam roll) and stretch post workout well, I build up knots that can cause me all sorts of discomfort while and after I lift.
 
VO2Maxima

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Is your weight forward into your toes at all? If your weight is too far forward, which can easily happen coming out of the hole, that'll put undue strain on the calf. You want your weight balanced throughout your foot, but sometimes it's easier to think that you want to press through your heels.

Is squatting the only time you feel it? Where in the calf is the pain?
 
Bmac63095

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Is your weight forward into your toes at all? If your weight is too far forward, which can easily happen coming out of the hole, that'll put undue strain on the calf. You want your weight balanced throughout your foot, but sometimes it's easier to think that you want to press through your heels.

Is squatting the only time you feel it? Where in the calf is the pain?
When I get in any squat position and come out of the hole it hurts. I have my Olympic shoes and I stretch and foam role but all it does is cause pain
 
VO2Maxima

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When I get in any squat position and come out of the hole it hurts. I have my Olympic shoes and I stretch and foam role but all it does is cause pain
I'd be really curious whether your weight is coming forward at all. Sometimes people's center of gravity can migrate a little bit too far forward while squatting. Olympic shoes are nice because they allow your torso to remain more upright, but it's also very easy with them to accidentally fall a bit forward. If you feel yourself pushing through your toes at all when you're trying to get out of the hole, that's something that may help if you're able to correct that. *IF* that is the issue, that would correct the root of the problem, but of course you'd have to deal with the symptoms right now.

Another possibility is that, since you're saying that it specifically happens during ATG squats, that it's a posterior tibialis problem, though that usually manifests as inner ankle/inner lower calf pain. So as you probably know, ATG squats require a good amount of dorsiflexion, and if you don't have that ankle flexibility, your foot will pronate to "fake" that flexibility. It should be less of an issue with your Olympic shoes though, and as I said, the pain probably isn't in quite the right spot.

You're probably on the right track with foam rolling. You could also add eccentric calf raises if you wanted, though honestly it's not like the tissues aren't being loaded with squatting, especially if you walk it out. You could also look into seeing someone who is able to perform Active Release Technique (or similar soft tissue therapy), which is often helpful with calf injuries. Also, rather than stretching (especially don't stretch beforehand...if you want to stretch after that's fine, but not before your workout), you may be better served with a longer warmup (or doing some eccentric calf raises beforehand...just bodyweight to warm up, if you want to do them heavier after squatting that's fine).
 

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