How to Stretch Calves to Break Through Your Foot and Ankle Pain Immediately!

  The muscles of your calves live on the back of your lower leg and run from behind the knee to below the ankle attaching to the heel via the Achilles tendon. They are the motor behind much of your forward movement throughout the day especially with running or quickly climbing stairs. It’s no wonder that these important muscles are prone to overuse and tightening when you consider how often they’re called into action. Do you feel minimal relief with all of the basic calf stretching on the internet? What if your calves keep tightening up regardless of the amount of stretching you do?   Tightness of the calves is commonly seen and diagnosed in physical therapy and medical centers as a driver of foot and ankle pain. It is thought that tightness of the calves will result in faulty biomechanics of the foot and ankle resulting in inflammation of the plantar fascia, and various tendons in the foot most notably, the Achilles. How can you appropriately stretch to provide pain relief and prevent injury? To understand, first we need to look at the role the calves play in your walking and running.   The calves make up a key part of your posterior chain. This includes the muscles on the bottom of your foot, moving up into the hamstrings, gluteals, and back extensors. When it comes to walking, running, jumping, and climbing, these muscles groups are hopefully working as a team to propel you forward in the desired direction. However, underuse of the hamstrings, glutes, and arch muscles leave your calves alone in the quest for forward propulsion! Think about any team you’ve been on. When you’re asked to shoulder the load for an extended period of time, you try to compensate to pick up the slack but eventually break down!   Lasting relief of tight calves for pain relief and injury prevention requires:

• An effective program to mobilize or stretch your calves the right way
• Changing how you use the calf during the day so you can “own” the new length
• Strengthening the weaker, neglected muscles of your posterior chain (getting those other lazy team members off their butts - sorry, pun intended) to help with ownership

Stretching your calves and strengthening your posterior chain muscles will result in improved carryover of relief, performance gains, and (most importantly) fewer injuries!   TRI PLANAR SOLEUS STRETCH (Ankle Dorsiflexion) Stand near a wall with one foot in front of the other, front knee slightly bent.

• Bend your front knee, attempting to touch the knee to the wall. Keep your foot pointed straight ahead and keep your heel on the floor at all times.
• Determine how far you can move the foot from the wall while keeping good form.
• Once your position is established, progress the stretch by moving from point 1, to point 2 and 3 for 3-5 seconds each.
• Feel the stretch in the lower part of the ankle near the Achilles tendon. If you have pain or pinching in the front of your ankle that doesn’t go away, back off the stretch and work through a comfortable range. You may want to connect with a movement specialist for evaluation of joint mobility if this doesn’t improve.
• Complete 3-5 cycles on each leg.

TRI PLANAR CALF STEP STRETCH To stretch the bigger and more superficial gastrocnemius muscle, stand on a step with both feet and hold the railing. The heel of one foot should be hanging off the step.

• Drop your heel down, keeping weight on this stretch leg. Once you feel a stretch, begin to shift your hips from side to side to move the stretch throughout the entire calf muscle.
• Continue shifting while holding the stretch position for 20-30 seconds.
• Complete 3-5 repetitions for each leg.

 

TRI PLANAR RUNNER’S CALF STRETCH AT WALL

• Loading the calves in the extended position will mimic the way the calves work while running.
• Stand near a wall or counter with one foot in front of the other, front knee slightly bent.
• Keep your back foot completely straight, and keep your heel on the ground as you lean forward.
• Once you feel a stretch, begin to rotate your upper body from side to side to stretch the calf and ankle throughout its entire range.
• Continue shifting while holding the stretch position for 20-30 seconds.
• Complete 3-5 repetitions for each leg.

Check out my video on the right way to stretch your calves for lasting relief and injury prevention.

  Carryover of this flexibility is dependent on how much you can use this new range of motion throughout your daily activities. The activity that uses your calves the most is walking. If you’ve used any type of step counter, you know that you are literally taking thousands of steps per day. This is a great opportunity to gain ownership of the new found calf flexibility. You can accomplish this by keeping your foot relatively straight throughout your stride, avoiding the tendency for the foot and ankle to externally rotate away from the body.   Contact your Physical Therapist or Physician if the tightness of your calves doesn’t resolve with stretching and rest. You may have a more serious condition or need a more complete evaluation from a medical professional.   See your physician if you have swollen or inflamed calves, redness, fever, or pain that worsens with stretching and exercise.   BE sure to subscribe to my newsletter for more information on this topic (like posterior chain strengthening) and programming to prevent injuries and avoid surgeries altogether!   The material and content contained in this channel, website, products, emails, or messages is intended for general guidance only and must never be a substitute or attempt to replace an actual evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment.  Always seek the advice of your physician, physical therapist, or other qualified healthcare professional (that specializes in human movement) with questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Any injury sustained or perpetuated while performing these exercises or activity changes is solely the responsibility of the individual performing these exercises or changes.  Movement Project and its partners disclaim any and all liability from injury sustained from performing the exercises or changes demonstrated in this video while you, the viewer, claims full responsibility. To the extent permitted by mandatory law, Movement Project shall not be liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages arising out of access to or use of any content available on this channel, regardless of the accuracy or completeness of any such content.