In early September 2019, just as I was wrapping up my Berlin Marathon training, I pulled my right calf right after my last long run. It was a tough setback, but after some serious and intense physiotherapy, I bounced back stronger than ever. In the end, I not only ran the Berlin Marathon but also smashed my personal best!.
Early October 2019, just one week after the Berlin Marathon, I went out for my first run. Almost immediately, something felt off below my right ankle. The side of my heel went numb, and every time I pressed or moved around my Achilles tendon, calf, and just below my ankle, an electric tingling shot through the area, all the way down to the side of my foot. It was like my leg was sending me some serious warning signals!
The tingling from what felt like a Sural Nerve injury kept getting worse, turning into an annoying, constant irritation. No matter which shoes I tried on, they all seemed to make things worse. I had to keep swapping pairs until I finally found the ones that caused the least discomfort—my go-to shoes that kept the irritation at bay during work and throughout my daily routine. Finding that perfect pair felt like a small victory in the middle of the frustration!
Physio for Runners
My first stop was the physio, who gave my leg a thorough massage but didn’t find any issues with joints, tendons, or muscles. He suspected it might be a case of sural nerve entrapment—basically, the nerve getting trapped in the fascia after my calf injury. So, he recommended I see an orthopedic doctor to get a closer look. It felt like my body was playing a tricky game of hide-and-seek with this nerve!
Eventually, I saw an orthopedic doctor who confirmed it: sural nerve entrapment. He explained that if it didn’t improve on its own, the usual fix was a small surgery. Knowing that this injury came from overusing my running muscles during training, I decided to try every possible physical therapy and treatment option first—anything to avoid going under the knife. After all, I wanted to exhaust all my non-surgical tricks before even thinking about surgery!
I threw all my energy and effort into beating that nerve issue without surgery. The lucky part? I didn’t feel any pain while running—just a mild irritation during warm-ups that disappeared once I got going. So, I kept up with my easy runs and even some easy long runs to maintain my aerobic endurance.
But during the day, normal activities made the sural nerve irritation worse. The uncomfortable buzzing feeling was a real pain and often ruined my mood. Luckily, it eased up at night after a warm shower and some good massages around my calf and ankle.
Here’s what I did to fight off those pesky sural nerve symptoms:
Action 1: I committed to one physio visit per week, where my therapist worked hard on the affected area. He pressed really deep on the exact spot where he suspected the sural nerve was trapped—right under my ankle! Fair warning: those pressure points were seriously painful, so brace yourself for some intense physio “love” during the treatment!
Action 2: My physio recommended I see a chiropractor once a week to help loosen up the ligaments around my heel and ankle—making it easier for the physio to do his thing. My chiropractor worked some serious magic with gentle stretches and movements, focusing on the trouble spots. He even used this cool gadget called the Ergo Myofascial Releaser Tool (you can check it out on Amazon!) to work deep into the tissue. Plus, he taught me some nerve flossing exercises to keep everything moving smoothly. It felt like my foot was getting its own little spa treatment!
Action 3: My physio told me to start stretching the area right up to the point where I could just barely handle the pain, then add in some strengthening exercises around it, and finish off with foam rolling to really work those muscles. So, I put together a 15-20 minute routine that I do twice a day—once before work and once before my evening shower. It became my little daily ritual to keep that nerve in check and get back on track!
STEP 1
I always kicked off my routine by foam rolling my right calf until that electric buzzing sensation started to fade. Whenever I hit a tight knot in the fascia, I’d hold the pressure for about 30 seconds before releasing—repeating this until my calf felt totally relaxed. Basically, I was prepping the area to be more open and ready for the stretches and strengthening exercises that followed. This warm-up usually took me about 5 to 10 minutes, but it made all the difference!
STEP 2
Three exercises that my chiropractor showed me to floss the nerve. Those are similar to those shown on videos below
STEP 3
Strengthening exercises: Elastic band to strength and stretch the calf while lying on my mat.
Step 4
Stretching the affected area:
- Stretching the calf on the stairs
- Stretching the heel and ankle area
One choices of Bands below you can use:
Step 5
Massage time! I used Organic Moringa Oil to work on my calf, gently pressing the heel and the area just below my ankle, hunting down any pesky little knots. Turns out, there were plenty of tiny knots lurking under the ankle! I’d press and hold each one until they started to loosen up. My physio went way deeper with the pressure—definitely painful at times—but, honestly, it turned out to be super effective in the end!
Step 6
Followed my doctor’s instructions and I purchased Vitamin B12 – I was taking these B12 vitamins for 2 months.
Step 7
Warm shower around the area was always making me feel better.
Here’s another trick I used: whenever I was sitting at my desk or relaxing on the sofa, I’d do ankle stretches to soothe my sural nerve—kind of like the Peroneal Nerve Glide exercises (there’s a great video for it). I’d do this every hour or whenever the irritation started to flare up.
After about two months of sticking to this routine—so around January 2020—I was 90% healed. And today, as I write this, there’s no irritation at all. Sometimes the nagging feeling sneaks back if I wear really tight shoes that press right under my ankle. The key is patience and consistent care. Hopefully, you’ll be as lucky as I was and gradually free that sural nerve from its trap, one step at a time!
**Above I am clearly describe my personal experiences and definitely is not a professional advice and you must always seek advice from your personal doctor and medical professionals as i did myself.
