Is it possible that working out on an exercise bike could be detrimental to recovery of an injured calf muscle?
At the end of the first week of February I was running a personal 10k time trial when I was forced to walk home due to increasing pain in a calf muscle, I had experienced no previous soreness. I could isolate the sore area by doing bent knee calf raises, straight knee calf raises caused no problems.
I had one day off, then for the next two days worked out twice a day in the gym on an exercise bike. AM session was 30/40 min at about 125w steady, about 90 rpm, PM session was 15 min hill simulation peaking twice for 2 min each at 210w and 74 rpm. There was no discomfort at all in the offending leg, either during or after the sessions.
On the fourth day I tried a hill walk which was good, then an easy road run which unfortunately woke up my cranky calf muscle again.
I managed to get into the physio that afternoon and had massage and electrical stimulation.
No running for the next 3 days, but kept up the steady bike workouts with only one more hill session. Then another physio appointment and a day off.
Two more days using the air con gym, and then yesterday a hill walk(good) and easy run up a 2.5k hill (good).
Today I headed out on the flat at a slow pace, but before 2k I found it necessary to start walking.
I’ve got a certain well known challenging event scheduled for the 8th March, and I am prepared to accept not running for the next couple of weeks. I am inclined to think that the exercise bike should be beneficial for maintaining condition, and maybe even therapeutic for the muscle injury. However I’m interested in opinion as to whether it may do harm.

Sorry to hear about your injury this close to 8th March.....but don't panic! I'm sure your base is done and it will carry you throught to race day, as long as you let that calf recover...

Have you tried swimming to see how this helps? I know it's harder to get a similar running feel to your workout with swimming as compaired to on the bike, but the water will help recovery, plus the kiciking action is really good for loosening up the calves. Most runners have really stiff ankles but, so focus on really relaxing your calves, feet and ankles and getting a nice loose kick happening.

As for the bike, if the saddle is not too high, you shouldn't aggravate it further by cycling. But stick to spinning, rather than climbing to be on the safe side perhaps?

Good luck!

Not a pro, but I injured my calf somehow whilst riding. Never been a problem running until I rode last sunday. Hasn't got much better or worse, except when riding. Going to see the Osteopath tonight and hopefully find something. Be careful and get professional advice before doing anything else. I haven't been able to run since then either.

LBP, as a pathetic swimmer, I think that I’ll have to settle for some pool running, perhaps hanging on to the pool side and kicking. If you see someone laying stretched out in the flow of the Cox’s River, holding onto the rope and splashing with their feet, give SoLucky a bark as you go past, he will just be having a therapy session.

If you can get the hang of pool running (with a belt) go for it, I have done many hours of this following stress fractures. But never managed to feel as though I was getting my HR up. Also hanging onto the side kicking might not get your HR up, but it would be good for your legs!

Water is good for recovery anyway you do it.

Make sure the calves are in a neutral position when cycling, particularly avoiding plantar flexion (toes pointing down). Move the pedal close to your heel, ie away from the toes.

Thanks for the tips. They make good sense.

This is sort of hijacking my own thread, but I’m now starting to wonder whether the two episodes of deep massage that I had within the first week may have been counter productive. Are there circumstances in which such concentrated application of pressure is not the best way to go? I recall that the physiotherapist did seem to ask for my agreement to the use of pressure point technique.

If the muscle was strained then deep massage directly on the damaged tissue will be counter productive. Even if it was a strain, you can benefit greatly from a massage working associated muscles and areas of the muscle not damaged. Gentle ice massage is very effective in reducing recovery time.

Not sure with your problem, best to speak to your physio, i'm sure they'd appreciate the feedback anyway.

hi so lucky,older male runners get this thing,streching does nothing,bike riding is of limited value,static bike is not so good for recovery from this,outdoor cycling is better,unfortunately cycling strengthens the gastrocnemii more than soleus which is the problematic muscle,you need professional massage every fortnight or so and a strong rehab programme,google eccentric calf strengthening and get on the programme asap or get the physio on to it-briz

Hi

i recently suffered a low level strain to my calf, went straight to the doctor. Well when i say straight to the Doctor i had been feeling it for a while (2 weeks) but thought it would go away. He prescribed R.I.C.E for the first 48 hours then i could ride or swim as long as it didnt hurt, and streching also backing of before it was painful. The doctor also said that once i could strech normally eg both legs the same, i could try calf rasies if they didnt hurt try hoping on the leg in question if i could do this with no pain then i could think about running. So sounds like your injury is similar to what i had, so riding shouldnt hurt your calf as long as it doesnt cause pain, and its way better than doing nothing. If it is a strain you have you need to be careful as i have been advised that if you dont let it recover properly it means you are more likey that the injury will reocur.
And if all esle fails go to a good sports doctor they have seen it all before and can give you a plan to get you to the start line fit and healthy.
As has been said before you have already done the work, so at the moment the focus should be on getting the calf right as the last thing you need is you calf to go on you half way through you little jog in the hills

Well, regardless of only running 8k since the 8th Feb, it seems that the daily use of an exercise bike, plus some pool work, did hold my condition together enough to complete my sixth Six Foot.
Slowly, but I did get there before the sweeper.
I had a contingency plan to bail out at Megalong Road if necessary but the previously offending calf muscle gave me no trouble on the day. I believe that the bike therapy did serve a useful purpose, and it certainly didn’t aggravate the injury.
48 hours after the event, my quads are still sore when pressed. It appears that the lack of running training left them ill prepared for Saturday’s task.
So it was a personal worst time, and 27 minutes slower than last year but it was good enough to get my buckle.

Glad you got there and finished!

As I read the history, I was thinking it could go either way.