CHARLOTTE – With summer comes a lot of outdoor activities that can put a strain on our bodies. Let’s take a look at the calf and what issues we might find below out knees. Our lower leg is made up of two bones, the tibia and the fibula. The tibia is larger and is located towards the inside of the calf. It’s job is to help with movement and provide support. The fibula is the bone on the outside of your calf. It helps with movement as well.

The muscular anatomy on your shin area of your calf is comprised of the tibialis anterior (responsible for flexing your foot towards your body), extensor hallucis longus (extends your big toe), extensor digitorum longus (moves your big toe) and the fibularis tertius (also involved in foot movement).

Then you have the muscles located on the outside of your calf: fibularis longus, fibularis brevis which help with flexing of the foot and moving your foot around at the ankle. These muscles are the smallest of the leg.

Then you have the muscles on the back of your calf: There’s the gastrocnemius (helps flex  the foot at the ankle joint as well as flexes the leg at the knee joint), soleus and plantaris (both flex the foot at the ankle)

These muscles also are intertwined with nerves that speak to the muscles. Next week we’ll go into detail about how these muscles affect your daily life and how massage can help keep them healthy this summer.

-Lisa Lane is a licensed (#13098) massage and bodywork therapist in Mint Hill. To book an appointment please visit www.ncmassagesanctuary.massagetherapy.com.