SHOULD WE BE WORRIED ABOUT ELLSBURY'S SORE CALF?

After reading through Mark Feinsend's article on Jacoby Ellsbury's sore calf in the New York Daily News, I am riddled with toxic thoughts of injuries plaguing the New York Yankees' 2013 season.  I figured that those days were over, at least, the chronic injuries in any case.  But we have signed some guys who have had a number of injuries over the years and it is likely that we will have some re-occurrence of soreness, muscle strains and other maladies this season.  Ellsbury was scratched from Sunday-Tuesday's games for what he is saying is "just a tight calf. That's really what it is, yeah."

Brian Cashman is just being a little cautious because it is just March and we have a whole season to play.  Ellsbury said if Sunday was a regular season game, he would have been in the lineup.  So, what's the sore calf about this early in the spring? 

According to an article in SportsInjuryClinic.net, "tight calf muscles may be caused by a compartment syndrome. This is where the muscle becomes too big for the sheath surrounding the muscle causing pressure, sometimes pain and restricted movement." When I think of sheath around a muscle, I think of Mark Teixeira's wrist.  If you recall, that's his malady or syndrome.  So what happens to athletes like Ellsbury who have a chronic condition of calf tightness and soreness? According to the same article, "calf muscles may have gradually tightened up over a period of months through not stretching enough before and after training. Tiny micro tears in the muscles cause them to go into spasm. When they are in spasm or contracted then blood cannot easily get into them. The muscles have squeezed the blood out like a sponge. If the muscles do not get enough blood then they will not get enough nutrients and so will tighten up to protect themselves and weaken and so on."

 

Calf muscle stretching regiments can help relieve this tightness.  Also, conducting an analysis of an athlete's gait (personal leg movement) will provide some deeper information into what happens when an athlete walks or runs and maps out a plan for correction in the form of shoes, inserts and exercises.  Ellsbury has the advantage of getting regular sports massages to his inflicted area and the best in shoes, stretching equipment and support staff.  He can recover, but it's the overuse and lack of rest that he is really missing.  So, being cautious from the get go, listening to your body and taking appropriate action are all good protocols at any stage of the season.  Ellsbury resting his calves from time to time is something he should do any time during the season where he feels that tightness.  He's got speed, stealing 50 bases last year.  He needs to have his rest days, just like a runner does.  And traveling for hours on a bus or plane, really makes your muscles tight, so Ellsbury needs to keep this in mind as well.

So, should we be worried about Ellsbury sore calf? Not really.  But we should be worried that he does not rest his calves and stay on top of his stretching.  Playing through pain is not always a good thing.  Listening to your body and taking appropriate action is the right thing.  I would rather the right thing in the long run.  Glad he sat out those games and if he has to sit out some in the regular season to keep from going on the DL, good.  Bring on the rest days, when you need them, Jacoby.  We need you healthy this season.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



 
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