Anatomy of the calf muscles

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Do you know your calf?🐄

Share with someone with tight/painful calves so they can edumacate themselves. The calf consists of two muscles - the soleus and the gastrocnemius (the one that you can see). The gastrocnemius has two HEADS - lateral and medial (outside and inside). Underneath the gastrocnemius is the soleus muscle.⁣
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Why would you care about this stuff? Well, depending on whether or not your knee is straight or bent will determine which calf muscle is being activated, lengthened, “tight,” or possibly limiting your range of motion.⁣
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The gastrocnemius attaches to your Achilles tendon and then both heads extend up the length of your lower leg and 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞 and attach to either side of your femur. The soleus attaches to your heel (calcaneus) and extends up the lower leg and 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞. These two different attachment points change the function of the two muscles.⁣
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When hinging over (deadlifting) with a straighter leg, the gastrocnemius can be a limiting factor for how deep you are able to hinge (not just your hamstrings!). When squatting, the soleus usually plays a role in limiting your ankle mobility, thus your squat depth will be decreased and your lower back is more likely to round at the bottom of a squat.⁣
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Each of these calf muscles can be “tight” separately - meaning that the gastrocnemius can be tight while the soleus can feel very mobile. Your hip hinge might be very limited while your squat depth and ankle mobility are great. The reverse can also be true. ⁣
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The role of both muscles is to plantarflex the foot (point the foot down), and both muscles can also play a role in knee flexion actively (gastroc) or passively (soleus). ⁣
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It is important to both stretch/massage these muscles as well as strengthen them.⁣
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#Calf #CalfMuscles #Anatomy #CalfAnatomy #AnkleMobility