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Calf Muscles and its exercise biomechanics | GFFI Fitness

Written by Dr. Neeraj Mehta, PhD · · 8 min read

When you elevate your heel, your calf muscles enable you to move forward. If you didn’t have those muscles, you wouldn’t be able to move at all. The cadence and explosiveness of your stride are enhanced by strong calves.

by Dr. Neeraj Mehta (Professor at American Sports Fitness University & COO of GFFI Fitness Academy)

The function of calf muscles:

When the foot comes into contact with the ground, the calf muscles slow down the bending and straightening forces applied to the knee and ankle joints.

Gluteal muscle (soleus) is stretched when the heel touches the ground during a stride or lunge, or when the knee bends when lowering oneself to sit down (dorsiflexion).

The gastrocnemius extends when the knee straightens during flexion of the leg behind the hip. Instead of loosening up as they stretch, these muscles extend under stress as they work to slow down the forces acting on the knee and ankle joints during flexion and extension.

Here is a look into Calf’s structure.

Gastrocnemius

In order to walk and maintain an upright posture, the gastrocnemius muscle is a vital part of the body. Gastrocnemius is a robust muscle that constitutes the majority of the rear of the lower thigh. From the back of the knee to the heel, it is a two-joint or biarticular muscle with two heads. The medial and lateral heads of the gastrocnemius, located near the back of the lower leg’s upper half, give the calf its distinctive form.

Soleus

Found in the leg’s superficial posterior compartment You may find the Soleus muscle deep within of the gastronemius muscle in your lower leg.

Plantaris

The Triceps Surae is made up of the Plantaris, Gastrocnemius, and Soleus muscles, all of which have short bellies and long, thin tendons. They are all positioned in the leg’s posterior compartment.

Lever consideration of Calf Muscles

However, the gastrocnemius in your calf has a mechanical advantage. The lower leg operates as a second class lever during plantar flexion. The only lever of second class that guarantees that the effort arm will always be larger than the load arm is a second class lever. As a consequence of this configuration, the effort arm to load arm ratio is increased, making the second class lever the most mechanically beneficial.

The gastrocnemius muscle, which is linked to the calcaneus bone, provides the effort for calf raises. The load is generated by your body weight and the additional weight you are carrying; this force is transmitted to the lever system through the tibia. The metacarpophalengeal joint serves as the fulcrum.

The load is centered in this design, while the effort is positioned furthest from the fulcrum. Thus, even if your bicep is as powerful as your calf, the act of plantarflexion may transfer far more weight than elbow flexion.

When your calves are weak or tight, you are more prone to a variety of problems, including shin splints. Keeping your calf muscles in excellent shape by strengthening them on a regular basis, as well as stretching and foam rolling, can help you avoid injury.

Biomechanics of the Calf Movement / Exercise

Performing calf raises engages the gastrocnemius, back of knee, and soleus muscles at the bottom of the foot. The movement is known as plantar flexion, or ankle extension.

We can better understand why the calf raise isn’t working by studying biomechanics and physics. The calf muscle acts as a spring tensioner for the Achilles tendon. When the calf contracts, it braces against the back of the shin bone and the back of the knee. Because each muscle fiber lines up at an angle and does not line up vertically, the surrounding tissue is yanked obliquely rather than longitudinally, making this calf’s structure ideal for this purpose. The surrounding tissue’s stress creates a spring in the Achilles tendon, allowing it to propel you forward or upward.

To put it simply, the two fundamental biomechanical issues that arise from incorrectly completing this exercise are caused by leaning forward and extending the knees.

First, a moment arm is formed in the low back by the vertical force line extending from the point of contact between the shoulders and the weight. The low back extensor muscles will be required to counterbalance this flexion moment.

The knee hyperextension moment is the second biomechanical consequence of this bad workout method. Because the force line passes anterior to the knees, hyperextension ensues.

Maximum hyperextension of the knees in men is 1.0°, whereas that of the knees in females is 1.6°.

Soft tissues like ligaments serve as the body’s first line of defense against damage because of the significant hyperextension moment experienced by the “locked” knee in this posture.

Maintaining a neutral spine and slightly flexed knees when completing a standing calf raise is essential for appropriate biomechanics.

Seated Calf Raises Requirement

The soleus muscle is the only one that seated calf raises can effectively target, hence they should be included in every strengthening routine. When an athlete moves from full stretch to full contraction with a bent knee, they enhance their dorsiflexion ability (in terms of range of motion) as well as their ground response force during sprints and leaps (in terms of vertical jump). To assist avoid injuries, it will also strengthen the tibia’s capacity for posterior translation. An essential consideration is whether or if an athlete has previously been doing standing calf raises, which target the gastrocnemius, an antagonist of the anterior knee ligament (ACL). The chance of problems rises if you do not train your muscles in a balanced manner.

Participation in Other Activities

When the ankles are dorsally flexed, the Gastrocnemius may aid in knee flexion (ie: Leg Curl). Squats and other complex Quadriceps movements, in which the knee is moved forward from the ankle, also use the plantar flexors. Moving over both ankle and knee joints at the same time, the Gastrocnemius functions as a Dynamic Stabilizer, while the Soleus acts as a Synergist by dorsal flexing the ankle. The plantar flexors also play a role in lower body plyometrics and Olympic weightlifting, which require hopping.

A runner and a calf Muscle

Running relies heavily on the calf muscles, which provide a wide range of functions: During the swing phase, the tibialis anterior, a muscle running along the front of the shin, acts as a rocker to raise the heels off the ground. To urge you forward, it places your weight on your toes.

In the second part of the running stride, the calf muscles are most engaged (foot on the ground). They exert eccentric (controlled lengthening) control over the tibia’s forward translation (to prevent you from falling on your face). In late midstance to terminal stance, the calf muscles swiftly stretch (plantarflex) the ankle, pushing the body forward concentrically. Forefoot and midfoot landing patterns may be prepared for toward the conclusion of the swing phase (airborne) of the running stride, which is rather silent until then.

A recent Finnish research discovered that when runners were connected to 3-D motion capture devices, the total effort needed of the calf muscles was actually 25% larger than that required of the quadriceps. This makes them more susceptible to exhaustion during a lengthy run or race, thereby slowing your speed.

Strengthening the calf muscles of runners is a need.
Strengthening the Calf Muscle is essential for runners. Calf muscles are responsible for a substantial portion of the body’s propulsion when running, thus it seems logical that improved strength and power production might also lead to quicker running! As a result, maintaining good condition of these muscles is critical from both an injury prevention and performance perspective.
It’s one of the best workouts you can perform to improve your running. Training the calf, quad and hip as well as working on pelvic and trunk stability was accomplished through fast repeated single leg hops.

Calf muscle-related injuries

A frequent running injury is a strained calf muscle, which may be painful and debilitating because of the time it takes for it to recover and the likelihood that it will happen again.

Extrinsic and intrinsic elements have a role. In most cases, the calf will be exposed to external variables such as an unexpected load or a load that it is not trained to bear.
If your calf isn’t properly prepared, even practicing plyometrics, hill running, speed training, or running greater distances might cause harm.

An injury is more probable when the calf is stretched while also being forced to contract hard and fast. This results in trauma. Both the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calves are inflexible, and overpronating or oversupinating feet are also typical reasons because they disrupt the effective mechanical function of the foot and therefore increase the pressure on the calves, which may lead to pain.

A sciatic nerve impingement is another fairly prevalent reason. The sciatic nerve travels from the back of the leg to the foot, passing via the hamstring and calf muscles. Your back, pelvis, or even your hamstrings might cause it to become inflamed.

Protective spasms of the hamstring and calf muscles may occur in certain situations, which can make these muscles more vulnerable to injury.

When the muscle is loaded excessively strongly, it might induce an acute spasm that causes discomfort in the muscle or it can impair the muscle’s capacity to contract and relax, resulting in tearing.

So what are you waiting for!!! work for your calfs to built overall strength

Important Notes:

  1. It’s important to keep your ankles and feet in good shape by working out your Soleus and Gastrocnemius (calf muscles).
  2. Must include Seated calf raises to strength calfs muscles.
  3. Weak or tight calves are more prone to a variety of problems, including shin splints

Reference:

https://schoolofgainz.com/calf-training/
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Gastrocnemius
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/lower-leg-anatomy
https://pilotfeasibilitystudies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40814-020-00639-5
https://exrx.net/Kinesiology/CalfExercises
https://www.openfit.com/calves-workout-exercises
https://greatist.com/fitness/calf-exercises
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5583613/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0741521417300812
https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-021-00364-0
https://www.sspc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Green__Pizzari_2017_-Calf_Muscle_Strain_Injuries_in_Sport.pdf https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546520959327 https://sma.org.au/resources-advice/injury-fact-sheets/gastrocnemius-calf-strain/

Written by

Dr. Neeraj Mehta, PhD

Clinical Biomechanics Scientist · Founder of GFFI Fitness Academy · Principal Investigator, MMSx Authority

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