Tearing calf muscles-- any suggestions?

[Shellydon]

I keep tearing my calf muscle.  I right leg the first time doing jumping jacks.  I didn't know what I had done, so I did whole doctor/MRI route.  It took 3 months to heal.  I tore the left calf muscle 1 year later, no idea how.  Now I have torn the right again.  Super painful, takes months to heal.  Any ideas on how to prevent this?  My doctor said some people are just prone to it. 

[BooksandBoys]

I tore both calf muscles a few years ago. I rested until they had completely healed, then returned to activity a bit too fast for one of the muscles and tore it again. After it healed, I forced myself to return to activity crazily slowly. Literally, one jumping jack a day for a while, then two, then five, then ten. I found I could jog (very short distances) before I could do jumping jacks or jump squats. I suppose the motion is not as intense. I did not jog on hills for a very long time, and again built up very slowly.

 

For me, calf tension is very related to hamstring tension (which I didn't notice until I went looking for the source of my calf injuries), so I use foam rollers and yoga to get and keep full range of motion in my hamstrings (I like what Katy Bowman has to say about muscles and stretching).

[Shellydon]

The actual calf muscle.  I have no idea how I tore it the last 2 times.  I will look at the foam rolling. Thanks!