You may have never thought about this before...

But, tight calves can cause plantar fasciitis, ankle weakness and pain, Charlie horses and muscle cramps, knee pain, hip pain and even back pain!  Keep reading to find out how to asses if you have tight calves and what to do about it.

The calf muscle's main function is to...

Lift your heel when you take a step when walking or running.  It can be over used becoming tight decreasing it’s functionality.  This decrease in functionality can cause pain above and below the area as your body tries to compensate.  So, the pain you are feeling may be caused by tight calves.

Tight calves can cause:

1. Plantar fasciitis.  The strain of the tight calf goes onto the attachment to the heel and then into the attachment from the heel into the plantar fascia.  You may not have complete resolution of your plantar fasciitis, if you are not address the tight calves that may be the root cause.

2.  Ankle pain.  Tight calf muscles don't allow the ankle to bend far enough when walking or running.  Good ankle mobility is needed for proper foot, ankle, knee, and hip stability.

3.  Charlie horses and muscle cramps.  When a muscle is over exerted it can cramp or spasm.  If your calves are tight, this may mean that you have weakness in your quads, hamstrings, and hip muscles.  This weakness causes you to over compensate, straining your calf muscles.

4.  Knee pain.  There are many tendons and ligaments that hold the knee joint together.  Tight calves can cause tendon strain that can present as pain behind the knee and limit your knee flexion.

5.   Hip pain. Tight calves can cause your body to compensate in multiple areas causing a chain reaction up your legs to your hips.  Having strong hip muscles will help offload the strain on the calves.

Other causes of calf pain include dehydration, side effects of medication, peripheral vascular disease, reduced blood flow to the calves, limited range of motion in the ankle, dietary imbalance or deficiency, and deep vein thrombosis.  These causes may need medical intervention.

So how do you know if you have tight calves? 

Click here to watch this short video demonstration.

Stretches for tight calves.

Soft foam roller.  This is one of my favorite exercises.  Using a soft foam roller will help break apart adhesions in your fascia allowing your muscles, tendons, and ligaments to move and function correctly.  Spend 1-2 minutes rolling the calve muscles.

Calf stretch with towel or belt.  While sitting with your legs out in front of you, use a towel or belt to gently stretch the back of your calves pulling your toes towards you, flexing your foot.  Hold 20-30 seconds.  Repeat 3 times on each leg.

Calf raises on a step.  While standing on a step, allow your ankles to relax and the heels to drop down towards the floor.  Hold for 20-30 seconds.  Repeat 3 times.

Standing wall stretch with straight leg.  While facing the wall, place both hands on the wall.  Have one foot in front of the other.  Slightly bend the leg closest to the wall, keeping the back leg straight.  Make sure to keep your knee lined up over your toe.  Hold 20-30 seconds.  Repeat 3 times on each leg.

Standing wall stretch with bent leg.  Standing wall stretch with straight leg.  While facing the wall, place both hands on the wall.  Have one foot in front of the other.  Slightly bend the leg closest to the wall.  Bend the back leg.  Make sure to keep your knee lined up over your toe.  Hold 20-30 seconds.  Repeat 3 times on each leg.

Here's a short video demonstration of these stretches.  Be sure to follow along!

Click here to watch.

Did you know that you can use KT tape (Kinesiotape) to tape your calves for additional support while you're healing?  This is a great tool to have and use.  When applied correctly, this helps to offload the pressure on the calf muscles.  I made a short video demonstration of how to apply the tape.

Click here to watch.

Hope this helps!  

Cheers!

Nicole