Mobility Monday: Calf Muscles
September 10, 2018
Hey guys! We know we have been gone for a minute but we are BACK and ready to help educate y’all in all things MOBILITY on Mondays! We’ve got Rachel here to help us and give us some homework that we can ALL use to get our mobility ON POINT. This week we take a look at the mobility in our calf muscles and what we can do to fix it to help our squatting, running, and other movements in the gym! -Team R2R
If you are unable to make gains in some movements or are dealing with ankle, knee, or hip pain – calf tightness MIGHT be the culprit. A limitation in ankle dorsiflexion (or the ability to bring your toes up away from the ground) can cause you to compensate when trying to run, squat, land from a jump — the list goes on and on!
Here’s how to address calf tightness from 3 potential sources: soleus, gastrocnemius, and the talocrural joint itself. This self assessment and treatment may be enough to solve a few superficial problems, but will not treat the true source of the problem if it’s coming from elsewhere. So come see me if your problems persist so we can get to the bottom of it!
-Rachel Atufunwa, PT, DPT
at River 2 River – Paducah