The calf in anatomical terms is part of the shin, i.e. a fragment of the lower limb located between the thigh and the foot. It is mostly muscle. To improve their appearance, some people even choose to use… calf implants! Calf pain, swelling or cramps may occur as a result of injury, overstrain or certain diseases. What muscles is the calf made of and what are their functions?

The calf(calf) is the back part of the lower leg, or shin, which extends from the thigh to the foot. Most people pay a lot of attention to the calves and possible exercises in this part of the body to slim them. No wonder - the calf is mostly made of muscle fibers. However, calf injuries can occur as a result of various activities. They can make you feel pain in that part of your body. However, calf pain can also occur as a result of other factors.

Calf: anatomy

The calf is a structure essentially made of muscle fibers. More precisely, it is made up of two muscles:

  • gastrocnemius muscle
  • and soleus muscle.

Gastrocnemius muscle

The gastrocnemius musclebegins in the popliteal area of ​​the femur. In addition, separate starter trailers have individual of its two heads.

The lateral head starts above the lateral condyle of the femur. The medial head begins above the medial condyle of the bone mentioned earlier.

The terminal attachment of the gastrocnemius muscle is located on the calcaneus. It is also worth mentioning here that the final fragment is the calcaneus tendon. The muscle is innervated by the tibial nerve.

The functions of the gastrocnemius muscleinclude the flexion of the foot in the plantar direction (i.e. downward) as well as its inversion and adduction.

Additionally, the muscle is responsible for bending and stabilizing the knee joint. It is also important for the function of the ankle and ankle joint.

soleus of the calf

Second muscle that builds the calf -soleus muscle- it has its initial attachment within the head of the fibula, the tendon arch extending between the fibula and tibia, and at the end of the soleus muscle, whichis located within the tibia.

Like the gastrocnemius muscle, it ends at the calf tumor and is also innervated by the tibial nerve.

The soleus is involved in the inversion, adduction and plantar flexion of the foot.

Calf: diseases

Calf pain

Generally, the most common problem with calves is pain. It can appear in extremely different situations. Usually, it is caused by prolonged, intense physical effort (e.g. running) or the need to stay in a standing position for a long time.

It's worth adding that sometimes calf pain occurs for no apparent reason. In this situation, it is referred to as idiopathic calf pain. Characteristic for this type of pain is that it occurs primarily at night.

Swollen calves

Calf pain is not the only ailment that may be associated with this particular part of the lower limb. Swelling of the calves is also possible. Sitting for a long time can cause swelling.

The problem must not be underestimated, as it may also result from deep vein thrombosis of the lower limb.

Other ailments

Among other possible calf pathologies, it is worth mentioning:

  • injuries(which may result, for example, in rupture of muscle fibers or damage to tendons),
  • inflammation of the muscles that build the calf(which can be caused by infections, but also autoimmune diseases),
  • rhabdomyolysis(breakdown of muscle fibers, which may be a side effect of taking certain medications, such as statins),
  • neoplasms(calf muscles are a rare location of primary neoplastic tumors, however, they may develop sarcomas. tumors with a completely different primary location),
  • varicose veinscalf blood vessels.

Cald: research

In the event of a patient suffering from calf problems, first of allimaging tests , such as:

  • computed tomography (CT)
  • or ultrasound.
  • The most thorough examination, however, is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the calves.

Calf examination is used not only in clinical practice, but also in various scientific research.

The results of some of them are really interesting.For example, in one of the studies it was observed that the larger the calf circumference of a patient, the less frequent the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries.

Calf: implants

Some people care about their calves and for this reason they undertake calf exercises.

However, it is not always possible to get the perfect shape of these body parts thanks to the exercises alone. For people who would like to definitely change the appearance of the rear parts of their shins,plastic surgery .

Basically everyone has heard about breast implants, but definitely fewer people know that there are alsocalf implants .

You can influence the shape of the calves with the use of implants, but it is also possible to use hyaluronic acid preparations or the patient's own fat tissue.

Treatments of this type - which is worth emphasizing here - are performed not only on people who do not like the shape of their calves. It happens that plastic surgery of the calves is used by people whose appearance of these parts of the lower limbs has changed as a result of experiencing an injury.

  • Calf cramps: causes. What do calf cramps show?
  • Pervasive calf pain (epidemiological soreness of the calf muscles)
  • Shin pain - when walking, running - causes

Category:

Anatomy