Calf muscle pain

Question
Hi,

I'm in my mid 50s and haven't jogged in about 3 years. I was an avid jogger before and want to resume jogging again. Now when I try jogging my left calf muscle hurts. I heard it pop once. I stop trying to jog and merely walk now for exercise. Do you have any recommendations for me on how I can stop my calf pain so I can resume jogging again?

Answer
Brad,
I don't know what happened with your calf as I can't diagnose an injury over a few lines in an email.  The popping feel concerns me.  My initial thoughts are that your muscles aren't warmed up properly before a run, and you might have done some static stretching (hold stretches) to 'warm-up' before a run.  However, static stretching before a run isn't all its cracked up to be, as it does very little in warming up the muscle tissue and has little effect in lubricating the joints up as well before a run.  A great tool to use for warm-ups is something called The Stick.  You can see what it is at http://intracell.net  I also have a video posted on YouTube.com, just do a search for the "7 Minute Tune Up" video, it will be under the name speeddialcoach.  This little video shows you how to warm-up with a device that works like "The Stick", which I use a regular wooden rolling pin to do the job almost as well as the Stick can do it.  Generally, about 10-15 times around each area of the lower leg (Quads, sides, Hamstrings, Calves, lower back, etc) will help get things much better for a good warm-up.  

I hope this helps you well,
Rick Karboviak