Great Read

I am a trainer and I came across an article trying to find the pathology of why one of my clients has an extremely tight gastroc, so much that if she doesn't do warm ups and then stretches it might just pull... rendering her sort of immobile for a couple of days...Any words?

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Thanks for the question!

So, I don't really have much information about your specific situation..but there are a few things you can consider.

1) Does this person stretch before and after working out? It's important to make sure that everyone has both a warm-up and cool-down routine. This prevents overworking cold muscles at the beginning of the workout and it also prevents pooling of blood in the legs/arms after a tough workout. This subsequently causes stiff/painful muscles for days.

2) What is her diet like? Nutritional deficiencies and dehydration are notorious for cause cramping and muscle weakness.Some examples are hyper/hypocalcemia, hyper/hypokalemia, hyper/hypomagnesemia and vitamin deficiencies. Poor nutrition slows the rebuilding and inflammatory process required for adaptation to a workout routine.

3) Does she have any medical problems? There are multiple genetic and acquired conditions that result in muscle weakness and hypertonia. They range from autoimmune diseases such as lupus, hypothyroidism and scleroderma to acquired kidney diseases (difficulty clearing electrolytes) to mild hereditary muscle dystrophies such as myotonic dystrophy (although these people tend to have tightness/cramping in the hands and fingers as an initial symptom) to some sort of lower motor neuron neuropathy.

Another common problem (especially in women) is venous stasis which is exceptionally notorious for causing leg cramping, pain on dorsi-flexion (aka Homan's sign). This can result from pregnancy, long periods of immobility, oral contraceptives and inherited hypercoagulable states and valvular dysfunction in deep veins. The key here is elevation and make sure she has regular checkups by her doctor.

Given that the most common causes of muscle weakness/tightness are the first 2 reasons that I listed above, I'd focus on those issues first and foremost. If her legs are the main issue, I would suggest the RICE maneuver following the cool-down portion of the workout to prevent pooling of blood that will remain, release lactic acid and cause pain and tightness.