Why should you worry about the soleus muscle or learn the soleus stretch?
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Let’s paint this picture for you. Your run training has been going great, you feel strong on your workouts, you’re running faster than ever, and then suddenly, you start noticing a deep, nagging pain in your calf muscle. Despite regular stretching and foam rolling, the pain doesn’t seem to be getting any better until one day…. BAM… your calf cramps and tightens up and you end up limping home from your run.
If this sounds familiar, you may be dealing with a less common running injury deep in your calf muscle from the soleus muscle.
What is the soleus muscle?
The gastrocnemius (or gastrocs) and the soleus muscles make the majority of the calf muscle. The soleus is the less popular and less well known of two calf muscles as it sits below and deeper than the gastrocs.
Both the soleus and the gastrocnemius help with plantar flexion (pointing the toes downward) of the foot and ankle. Both muscles originate off the Achilles tendon on the back of the lower leg, but the soleus, as the smaller and shorter of the two calf muscles, stops short of the knee and attaches high up on the tibia. The gastrocnemius splits into two heads halfway up the calf and then these two heads of the gastrocnemius cross the knee and attach to the distal part of the femur.
This difference in the location of the attachments of the soleus and the gastrocnemius is important especially in the case of trying to rehab, stretch, or strengthen the soleus muscle.
Anatomy of the Soleus Muscle
It is a deep, flat muscle located in the posterior compartment of the lower leg, beneath the gastrocnemius muscle.:
- Origin: The soleus muscle originates from the posterior surfaces of the head of the fibula and the upper third of the body of the fibula, as well as from the middle third of the medial border of the tibia (soleal line).
- Insertion: The soleus muscle, along with the gastrocnemius muscle, joins to form the Achilles tendon, which inserts into the calcaneus (heel bone).
- Innervation: The soleus muscle is innervated by the tibial nerve, a branch of the sciatic nerve.
- Blood supply: The muscle receives its blood supply from the posterior tibial artery and the fibular (peroneal) artery.
Function of the soleus muscle in running:
The soleus muscle plays a crucial role in running, as it contributes to several key actions:
- Plantar flexion: The primary function of the soleus muscle is plantar flexion of the ankle joint, which helps to push off the ground during the toe-off phase of running. This action propels the body forward, generating forward momentum.
- Shock absorption: The soleus muscle, along with the gastrocnemius, helps to absorb the impact forces generated during the foot-strike phase of running. This shock absorption is essential for reducing the stress on the lower leg and foot, preventing injuries.
- Postural stability: The soleus muscle, being a postural muscle, contributes to maintaining an upright posture during running by resisting the force of gravity when the foot is in contact with the ground. This helps to maintain balance and stability while running.
In summary, the soleus muscle is a critical component in running, as it contributes to forward propulsion, shock absorption, and postural stability. To maintain optimal running performance and minimize the risk of injury, it is essential to keep the soleus muscle strong, flexible, and well-conditioned.
How to Stretch the Soleus
The soleus can be a little tricky to stretch properly, which is why many runners continue to have problems with their calf pain.
Bent-knee Standing Soleus Stretch
Most runners are familiar with the standard standing calf stretch with one leg behind the other and leaving forward until you feel the stretch in the back of the calf of the back leg. But this calf stretch primarily focuses on stretching the gastrocnemius calf muscle and not the deeper and shorter soleus calf muscle.
In order to focus your calf stretch on the soleus muscle, its important to bend the back knee. As the back knee bends, the gastrocs muscle will relax a bit since it crossed the back of the knee joint. With the gastrocnemius muscle relaxed, you should be able to focus your stretch on the soleus muscle. This bend-knee calf stretch won’t feel the same as the typical straight-leg calf stretch, and that’s a good sign that you are getting a good stretch on the soleus muscle.
Dorsiflexed Foot Standing Soleus Stretch
Another way of focused stretching the soleus is to use a wall to flex the foot while bending the knee and slowing leaning into the stretch. The bent knee allows the gastrocnemius to relax a little and also focuses the stretch on the soleus muscle.
- Stand facing a wall, about an arm’s length away.
- Place your hands on the wall at shoulder height.
- Step one foot back, keeping the heel on the ground and the knee slightly bent.
- Lean into the wall while keeping your back leg’s heel on the ground and knee slightly bent.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times on each leg.
Seated Soleus Stretch
This is an easy stretch to do while seated on an office chair or stool with wheels. while the foot flat on the floor and the knee bent, simply push forward slowly on the chair or stool and you should begin to feel the stretch in the calf.
- Sit on the floor or a mat with your legs extended in front of you.
- Loop a towel, resistance band, or yoga strap around the ball of one foot.
- Gently pull the towel or strap towards you, keeping your knee straight, until you feel a stretch in your calf muscles.
- Bend your knee slightly to focus the stretch on your soleus muscle.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times on each leg.
Soleus Stretch with Band
If you’re suffering from a bad calf strain and having difficulty walking due to the pain, the Soleus Stretch with Band is one way to start rehabbing the calf and hopefully get you back to running a little quicker.
Use a foam roller or pillow under the knee to keep the knee flexed (which relaxes the gastrocs muscle) and loop the band around the foot. Pull the band to dorsiflex the foot (point the toes up) and you should feel the soleus stretch.
- Stand on a step or curb with the balls of your feet on the edge and your heels hanging off.
- Hold onto a railing, wall, or another stable object for balance.
- Slowly lower your heels below the step or curb, keeping your knees slightly bent to isolate the soleus muscle.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.
Soleus Exercises – Seated Calf Raises
Getting the soleus stronger should be the focus of any good post-rehab program for a calf strain. While many runners will due standing calf raises, that exercise will work both the gastrocnemius and soleus. Doing a seated calf raise relaxes the gastrocnemius and places the majority of the work on the soleus muscles. The seated calf raise is a great exercise for that runner that continues to have recurrent calf injuries since building up calf muscle strength may help prevent recurrent calf injuries.
How To Massage the Soleus Calf Muscle
Proper body work is important for runners and learning how to do your own massage, foam rolling, and trigger point release could be the difference between a successful running season full of PRs and steady improvement or nagging chronic injuries that limit your running.
Trigger Point Release of the Soleus Calf Muscle
Sometimes runners can develop trigger points or muscle spasms in the soleus and these trigger points in the muscle tissue tend to cause recurring issues with calf pain and cramping until properly treated. A good sports massage therapist should be able to easily identify both active and latent trigger points and work on myofascial release to resolve these trigger points. But I’ve also found that many runners can work out these soleus trigger points on their own at home once they learn the proper foam rolling or massage ball techniques.
The best book I’ve come across for learning how to self-treat trigger points is the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. It’s now in its third or fourth edition and this book has been one I recommend to any patients dealing with trigger point muscle spasms. The book is based on the two-volume medical textbook by Travel and Simon. Instead of almost $300 for the medical textbook, you can pick up the patient version with step-by-step approaches for dealing with trigger points anywhere in the body for about $20.
Soleus Calf Muscle Trigger Point Release Video
Foam Rollers and Massage Balls for Soleus Trigger Points
A foam roller should be an essential part of any runner’s rehab equipment but a trigger point massage ball can also be as valuable especially when trying to get pressure on deeper muscle trigger points in the soleus muscle.
Soleus Stretching Videos
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