#Calf stretch free#

You can then lean forward and bend the front leg as you feel the back leg’s gastrocnemius muscle stretch. Keep this back leg straight, your toes pointed forward and try to keep your heels and toes flat on the floor. This set of stretches is called a “Wall Stretch.” Start by putting your hands flat on a wall and step one foot back about one large step (this will be the leg you are stretching).

#Calf stretch free#

Today we will discuss one easy calf muscle stretch you can do at home with just a few free minutes. You should try to stretch your leg muscles every day, including calf muscles (both gastrocnemius and soleus), hamstrings (back of thigh), and quadriceps (front of thigh). This is why stretching your leg muscles is important as both a prevention and treatment of many types of lower extremity injuries. If the calf muscles are tight (and therefore shortened), they pull on your heel bone and cause your foot to function in abnormal ways with each step you take. They then travel down the back of your lower leg, where all three parts join together as your Achilles tendon to insert into the back of your heel. The calf muscles (made up of 3 parts: 2 heads of the gastrocnemius muscle and 1 soleus muscle see picture) originate on the back of your thigh, with the gastrocnemius just above the back of your knee and the soleus just below the back of the knee. A tight muscle acts as a shortened muscle, and in the case of the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles) in the lower leg, a tight muscle can cause major deforming forces on both the structure and function of the foot. The reasons that muscles tighten up are many, including overuse, underuse, and abnormal use (such as when you walk a certain way to avoid pain). The reason for this is simple: when a muscle is allowed to tighten up, it changes the function of that muscle and alters how the body deals with the motions and forces of everyday life.

Some of you may have noticed that more often than not, a treatment option in podiatry involves the physical therapy modality of stretching.