Calf / Popliteal Recovery

In September of 2011, while on a ten mile run I had to stop running. The upper portion of my calf was aching. Thinking it was a cramp, I began to walk a little. After a half a mile of boring walking, I started to run, and the pain returned to the point where even walking was painful. I limped home, iced my leg, and even though there was considerable pain, thought nothing of it. I took a day off and tried to run two miles the following day to no avail.

After taking three weeks off, I tried running again. No luck. As soon as I returned to running, calf hurt.

Then, I took six weeks off and went through a regime of physical therapy, which consisted of calf raises, heel drops, stretching, massage, therapeutic ultrasound, balancing exercises, and a gradual return to running (mostly on the treadmill). No luck. As soon as I hit three miles, calf hurt.

Ultimately, I read about a number of individuals having problems with their popliteus (a small muscle at the back of the tibia) and read a little about recovery. All of my "calf" pain went away as soon as I did a week of this:

1. Quit running on the treadmill and ran outside. I thought running on the treadmill would be better for my body but, while there is less shock, I think some of the give in the belt aggravated my injury (plus I had never run on a treadmill before my injury).
2. Continued but reduced calf raises and stretching.
3. Did the following exercise: