According to the actual situation of the injury, refer to the rehabilitation program of the gastrocnemius muscle group and choose the appropriate stretching and plyometric training methods.
Stretching training
Muscle tension assessment.
Stretching exercises are done without pain. Stretching and pulling muscle training is about moderation. If the gastrocnemius is very tight, improper pulling may add additional damage to the injury.
Gently push up on the toes, the back of the foot can be at 90° to the calf without applying a lot of external force. If this is not possible, it suggests excessive tension in the gastrocnemius.
As mentioned earlier, muscle strain in the posterior calf can occur in the gastrocnemius and possibly the flounder muscle. Therefore, during rehabilitation, both muscles need to be exercised. When the knee joint is straight, the gastrocnemius muscle is stretched; when the knee joint is properly flexed, the hallux valgus muscle is trained. Because the gastrocnemius is a muscle across the knee joint, when the knee joint is bent, the gastrocnemius is shortened and tension is removed, so it cannot be pulled.
1, active stretching training.
Active stretching training has little pulling force on the muscle, so it is usually performed early in the injury. Muscle activity is always carried out in pairs (divided into active and antagonistic muscles). Pulling contraction of the front of the calf muscle, the rear muscle group is relaxed.
Training methods.
(1) To stretch the gastrocnemius muscle, sit on the ground and straighten the affected leg forward. Then extend the toes and foot backward for a few seconds, relax and rest. Repeat the action 10-20 times.
(2) To stretch the hallux valgus muscle, sit on the floor with the affected leg extended forward and slightly bent at the knee. Lift your foot up off the ground, without your heel leaving the ground. Continue for a few seconds, then rest. Repeat the action 10-20 times.
2. Passive extension training (towel pulling training).
Sit on a hard surface and stretch the affected leg out in front of you. Put a towel on your foot, pull the towel towards your body, keep the knee straight, and feel a pulling sensation at the back of the calf. Hold the movement for 15-30 seconds, then relax. Repeat 3 times. The whole pulling process should be light and slow to avoid pain. You can train the flounder muscle by bending the knee.
3, standing gastrocnemius extension training.
Standing facing the wall, the affected leg as far back as possible, arms raised in front of the wall to shoulder level. The front leg knee slightly bent, the body leaned forward. Keep the back leg straight and keep the heel as far from the ground as possible during the process. When you feel a pulling sensation behind the calf, maintain it for 20-30 seconds. When there is no tension pulling feeling, you can increase the degree of forward leaning until the posterior calf tension appears. Every 3-5 groups, 3 times per group.
4. Step extension training.
If the calf gastrocnemius muscle group to restore a good degree of extension activity, you can further use step-assisted training to achieve better pulling effect. The training can replace the previous standing position gastrocnemius extension training, just do one of them.
Training method: Stand on the step with the palm of your foot and heel off the ground. It is best to have handrail supports on either side of the step for protection. Depress the heel down until there is a pulling sensation at the back of the calf. Hold for 20-30 seconds.
If there is no pulling sensation behind the calf, try lowering the heel a little more until there is tension. 3-5 sets per day, 3 times per set.
5, standing position flounder muscle extension training.
Training method: stand facing the wall, so that the affected leg in the back, hands forward at shoulder level to hold the wall. Bend both knees to the squatting position, the heels do not leave the ground. The person leans forward, body weight is applied to the feet, but the heel never leaves the ground. Hold for 20-30 seconds after there is pulling tension in the back leg.
If it can be done easily without significant tension, you can lean forward more or bend the knee to a lower position to make the training more difficult and achieve better results. 3-5 sets of 3 reps per day.
Plyometrics
Perform both stretching and plyometric exercises while keeping your muscles pain-free. Start with simple movements. When it can be done easily without any difficulty, you can gradually increase the difficulty. It is not necessary to complete all the training at once.
1. Ankle resistance plantarflexion training.
This training is gentle and suitable for early start.
Training method: Wrap the resistance elastic band or bandage around the toes, step down hard on the back of the foot, and confront the plantar flexion movement. At the beginning, 2 sets per day, 10 times per set. Later, this can be gradually increased to 3 sets of 20 reps per day.
If after a few days, there is no pain and discomfort, you can increase the resistance by shortening the elastic band to increase the difficulty of the training.
2, seated calf raises training.
The training load is small, mainly suitable for strengthening the flounder muscle strength.
Training method: sitting on a chair, bend the knee, natural drops. Tiptoe up and lift the heel off the ground as high as possible, the higher the better. Weights can be placed on the knees to make the training more difficult. At the beginning of the training, 2 sets of 10 reps per day. And then, under the premise of ensuring that there is no discomfort, every 2-3 days, a little increase in training intensity.
3.Lift training.
Training method: stand on the ground or the edge of the steps, legs straight, heel lift off the ground, then slowly lower the heel until it is below the plane of the steps, and then lift again on tiptoe. It is better to train on steps, but make sure there is a support around you that you can hold on to for protection. When you first start training, without any discomfort, do 2 sets of 10 reps per day. Later gradually increase to 3 sets per day, 20 times per set. Practice a few days, can easily complete without any discomfort, you can increase the weight on the affected leg (you can use sandbags).
4, single-leg lifting training.
After being able to easily complete the above double-legged lifting training, you can carry out single-leg training.
Training method: stand on the ground or the edge of the steps, heel off the ground. Normal leg knee bent and raised, not to the ground. With the affected leg straight, slowly lower the heel until it is below the level of the step, and then stand on your toes. At the beginning, 2 sets of 10 reps per day, then gradually increase the amount of exercise to 3 sets of 10-20 reps per day.
5.Flexion knee lift training.
This training is mainly to enhance the strength of the flounder muscle, the method is similar to the straight leg lifting training, but the training process, the knee remains slightly flexed. At the beginning, 2 groups per day, 10 times per group, and then gradually increase the amount of exercise.
6, touch the nose training.
Facing the wall (about 10cm away from the wall), the affected leg stands on one leg. Keep the body and legs straight, slowly lean forward so that the tip of the nose touches the wall, and then return to the starting position. During the process, make sure the waist is straight and not bent, mainly on the affected leg. Each time 3 groups, each group of 10 times.
7, jumping wall touching high training.
Face the wall and make a mark at a height of about 60-80cm above your head. Jump upward, hands up over your head, trying to touch the mark. Jump like a spring-like bounce and drop lightly. If you can do it easily, you can do single-leg jumping exercises to increase the difficulty. 3 sets of 10 reps each.