I have started getting regular massage sessions lately. I thought that was really gonna help me through training and give me the edge. Until massage in its self became a problem!! My calf has a very big lump that I can identify with my own fingers. I started off with someone who barely did anything with my muscles and never eased anything off. Then I went on to change the guy and try again. Nothing and so on and on it went. And my main aim was to find someone who can help me get this lump eased out. Nothing at all. Until I got some help from a friend of mine who has actually studied massage and he’s telling me that he never saw any calf as hard as mine. He also go to point out other problems I never saw in my outer quads. other huge lumps. not much in the hamstring though ( Which in a way makes me question my way of running! ) Anyway. My friend started out with 1 hour sessions and he goes so hard on these areas and asks me to relax as much as I could and try to take the pain. I actually scream and at the end of the day. I can’t believe the lump is going away. Sometimes I feel its smaller. But then its always there. I have taken my 4th session with my friend yesterday and still the lumps in my quad and calf are always there. The areas where he has been working on are so red now. They also hurt a little but not in training. In fact. training is going good. No fear of injury no more. I don’t get scared of running 100% no more. But that calf issue. I’m starting to believe that no one on earth could do anything with both of my calves. To a point where my friend told me that this might be normal, but then he touches it again and says. " NO its not normal, something’s wrong!! " Can anyone tell me what could I do about that. Did anyone get that problem! I don’t know. Its starting to bug me. I mean I don’t know how I did 10.57FAT without knowing or caring about any of this!! But to say the truth. I have gone down a long way after running that time. SO I guess I can’t give up massage at this point. I really need help.
How many times have you talked about recovery and regeneration Charlie… And after all I see no one intrested in helping me out with something very critical to training!!
Fast… could it be scar tissue in the calf from an old tear?
I have had very bad calf tears in the past & there is a lump left from scar tissue (all the ART I have had cannot get deep enough to break it up) as well as some coagulated blood. This may be what you have.
As for your quad lumps… I have one in each quad & it was pointed out by a maasage therapist as well. It was diagnosed as tissue that had adheared to a nerve?!. It does not cause pain or inhibit movement & has been there for years. I can even see them when I have been running. It has not raised any alarm bells even with a German specialist so I have ignored them.
I am not a doctor (you may want to get them checked & scanned to rule out anything less benign as stated above) or an expert, just my experience with a similar symptom.
cheers.
Go to see an orthopedic doctor and they will hopefully give you a prescription for physical therapy. At therapy they will probably do ultrasound to the adhesions. This sounds like the best bet from the amount information that you have given.
Thank you so much guys. Thank god that it has happened to someone before. So Its not only me. And since you have ignored it “Djp” then after I do some tests as " firebird" said and find out there is no hope in getting it eased then I’ll probably ignore it. Thank you guys again.
I know this is probably not nec. BUT… as far as ignoring it, make sure you get it thoroughly checked first (I saw an Orth Surg. too).
But sometimes the damage we do will leave scars & I find the hardest thing to do is push through the hesitaion phase & trusting that it will not cause more damage. Anyone who has had any serious calf injuries know what I am talking about.
Good luck with the tests.
My recommendation - don’t stop with the regular massage. And if you can train/run without pain, stay positive … don’t let the lump in the calf/quad go sit in your mind!! Good luck!
My athlete has complained about a sore calf at the beginning of the year. He got treatment and after a month, he had a torn hamstring … same leg. Any link?
I was getting massage from a very poor person at the past and he was sliding over my calf and used to hit the ligmants on the back of my knee which then resulted in major pain in the hamstrings the following few days. Thank god I left that guy.
Is there any way you can get an ultrasound or MRI scan to diagnose the problem?
An MRI can show soft tissue damage, and the extent of it. The only problem is that fast11_12 doesn’t mention an acute trauma to the calf (a tear of the muscle belly) so this may not show up on an MRI.
The ultrasound that I mentioned is not the ultrasound that you may be thinking of. It’s not the imaging technique that pregnant women get to see their baby. Ultrasound is a therapeutic modality that uses soundwaves to give a deep heating effect. This modality is very useful at breaking up adhesions in soft tissue, which is the case with fast11_12.
MRI can image scar tissue. I know what you were meaning with regards to therapeutic ultrasound mate! 
A diagnostic ultrasound would be a vital, and relatively cheap, diagnostic tool in this instance, as severely scarred, necrotic tissue can not be cured with any amount of soft tissue work.