3 Exercises to Strengthen the Soleus Muscle
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- Today’s video covers three exercises to strengthen the soleus muscle, which is located in the posterior compartment of the lower leg and is a powerful plantarflexor of the ankle joint. Together with gastrocnemius, these two muscles unite to form the triceps surae or calf muscle group.
Unlike gastrocnemius (a 2-joint or biarticular muscle), soleus only crosses the ankle joint. In order to most effectively isolate this muscle, the knee must be positioned in flexion to put gastrocnemius on slack. When a two-joint muscle is placed on slack, it is placed in a mechanically disadvantageous position and, thus, able to develop less torque (termed active insufficiency).
Following this logic, three exercises are presented, which demonstrate how the solei can be trained. Such training may be used as a part of a program aimed at addressing achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis and, more recently, research has shown that training soleus may also help protect the knee (see citation).
1. Seated Soleus Calf Raise
2. Tip-Toe Farmer’s Walk
3. Standing Soleus Calf Raise
Give these a try and let me know if you have any questions. 3 sets of 12-15 reps will work well for most people.
My new book contains rehab exercise programs for the 50 most common injuries and pain issues, including several ankle and foot conditions (achilles tendinopathy, calf strains, ankle sprains, shin splints, bunions). Click the link to learn more! a.co/d/0HDOdYI
Reference: Maniar N, et al. Muscle Contributions to Tibiofemoral Shear Forces and Valgus and Rotational Joint Moments During Single Leg Drop Landing. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020.
I only just heard about the importance of the soleus muscle, after two years of working out. This was the place to come. Thanks!
Such an important muscle! Glad you know about it now!
That last exercise was game changer thanks! I had been doing bent knee heel drops, but wasn't bending my knees enough. But holding to something allows me to bend closer to that 90 degree range. Great video
Major bonus points for the 2nd and 3rd exercises. I plan to add them to my gym sessions immediately.
Thanks for giving a variety of exercises! I train at home and was doing sitting calf raises with 20 kg dumbbells (and the heaviest they go is 30 kg so I would sooner or later exhaust my loading limits). Now gonna switch to the last exercise!
I'm going to start implementing these exercises into my strength training today. I've battled insertional Achilles tendonitis for some time, and while my podiatrist and PT talked about the soleus, I wasn't given any specific soleus-focused exercises to do (mostly stretching and range of motion, and calf-strengthening, all of which are good, but ultimately haven't helped much). This is very helpful!
Glad the video was helpful! Soleus strengthening can be super helpful and important to add to your program when battling Achilles tendinopathy.
THANK YOU for this video. Suffered an injury to my right Soleus a few weeks ago, and been out of work for the past 2+ weeks. A little discomfort still remains (healing very slowly) but will start to do exercises tommorow. Did not know about having the knee bent. Will use that machine (where you sit down) in the gym tommorow.
I'm glad the video was helpful. The seated soleus machine at the gym is excellent for rehabbing soleus injuries. Best wishes with your recovery!
Great to strengthen the ankles! I loved it!, thanks doc 👌🏼🌟
Thank you 🙏
Thank you for this...very simple, easy to follow exercises to strengthen the soleus muscle.
You're welcome! Glad the video was helpful!
Very grateful for a great video, thanks for all yr time and trouble.
No problem! Happy to provide these videos!
Thankyou for explaining this!
No problem!
Thank you very much for this great video 🙏
My pleasure!
Thank you for great video.
My pleasure!
Thank you Doc!
My pleasure!
I used this very successfully to treat Achilles tendinopathy in 2011 in a remote geological exploration camp in Tanzania (where I had few distractions). I had a swelling/lesion in the tendon about the size of a quail egg and within about 6-8 weeks it disappeared, pain ceased and I returned to normal activity. I used assymetric contraction (I think is the term). Great video - thank you!
Glad to hear these types of exercises helped you. I think you are referring to eccentric contractions, which are often cited in achilles tendinopathy research.
@@RehabScienceThanks. Yes, I'm corrected - eccentric. :-) You mention research - does that mean that eccentric contraction's therapeutic benefit is now in debate? I cannot comment because I have nothing to compare it to. Of course it's not possible to perform only eccentric contraction I think so it may have been just the 'regular' contraction that helped lol.
@@Fomites Eccentric focused exercises still have good research support. However, some emerging evidence has suggested that heavy slow, full range contractions (concentric and eccentric contractions) can be just as effective. It really boils down to the individual and how they respond to each type of loading.
Thank you ❤️
You’re welcome 😊
Thank you! I'll try these. My soleus muscles have given me grief long runs and hill climbs on mt mtn bike.
I hope these help you!
❤
Excellent video
Thank you!
Informative. Thanks
You’re welcome. Glad you found it to be useful.
Soleus tip toe walks are an interesting one. Great video
Glad you liked the video!
Yess! University of Houston Texas Paper published 2022 is sparking a wave of interesting Reducing the level of sugar and jnsulin in the blood for diabetics after eating by 52 per cent(better than many diabetes medications) with a very simple movement of this soleus muscle 👍
That is a cool paper! I remember Huberman talking about it.
@@RehabScience Seeing that video is what got me here!
Good video thanks
You're welcome
Great tip 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Dr Walter, thank-you for these ‘bent knee’ exercises. Most useful and straightforward to follow, I will be trialling these later at the gym to improve calf strength. Regards from England and a new subscriber.
thank you
You're welcome
These popular CZcamsrs don’t tell u about these “secret” muscles thank u so much I also didn’t know about rotator cuffs for years are there more secret muscles to train? Pls tell me
I have a marathon in 3 weeks (had been training for 11 weeks) and have been out of action for a week so far due to my soleus mainly (also shin splint) so I’ve joined the gym to get some cardio in and am also doing exercises to help the soleus. Your video along with physio guidance and other videos have been really helpful. Hoping that it helps and I can be on that start line 🤞🤞
So glad to hear the video was helpful! Best wishes with your recovery and upcoming marathon!
Nice. Keep it up.
Thanks!
Thanks ! :) :) :)
You're welcome!
thanks, ryan gosling!
Haha, no problem!
I got bad cramp just under my calf when I was running so I had to stop running it was very sore when I touched it! Any ideas of wat I have done?
I have shin splints. will it help if I strengthen my soleus muscle, cause that's where I feel the pain? I'd appreciate your reply
nice thanks - wow 7 months ago is pretty recent!
Working on putting out fresh content all the time!
These are great to reduce blood sugar!
Yes, another cool factor associated with soleus activity.
It is cool.
👍👍
Big fan
Thanks!
I bet those calves feel pretty good after that. Get all the tension out . Wish I could do it to myself!!
Thanks for the video, it finally gives me some hope… I tore the soleus/Achilles junction tendon 3 years ago now, and still in a lot of pain with it..makes just walking some days very uncomfortable…the actual spot is 7 inches from the floor to the tear, so is that the soleus or top of the achilles I have torn?… love to know once and for all ?….
Hope u can help with the answer, thanks
It’s hard for me to say for sure, without it evaluating you, but it sounds like the tear is probably more associated with your soleus rather than gastrocnemius.
@@RehabScience yea I wasn’t sure it was even the top of the Achilles.. how high does the Achilles finish from the floor up ?
Is it better to do these barefoot or w gym shoes ? I broke a bone (4th tarsal area? ) and just got out of boot. Thank you
I have a question. I'm dealing with pain in the muscles around my shins. It's both sides. It prevents me from running, jumping, or performing at my top level. Its been like this for quite some time now. I would try to do exercises, and the pain would go away, but then I'd start playing sports again, and the pain comes back. Is this soleus? I've done calf raises and other calf/soleus exercises, but the pain keeps coming back. Any recommendations for exercises or advice on what the reason would be behind this? If you read all this, thank you!!!
Hair search on CZcams exercises for shin pain
Bentley calf raises help with Sprint's off the line for the first five or six steps, as the knee is really bent in the beginning of a Sprint
Definitely 👍
How much time should you do each of these exercises and how often should you do them.
I would aim for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions 1-2 times per week.
Hi! What if I have severe weakness to the point where I have limited ROM for plantar flexion (and dorsiflexion) and can't tip toe while standing/push off my back leg when walking. What exercises can I do? Thanks!
If you can’t raise up on your toes in a single-leg fashion, then I would try a double-leg calf raise. If this isn’t possible either, then you can sit down and wrap a band around your foot and point your toe using the band as resistance.
@@RehabScience Oohh Thank you!
Yes
I hear that exercising the soleus muscle greatly helps in reducing blood sugar.
Yes, this has been discovered more recently in physiology based research.
Will strengthening the soleus help the posterior tibial and peroneal tendons as well as Achilles?
It will tend to help both, but more so the tibialis posterior as it helps with plantarflexion.
Esses exercícios servem pra aumentar o tamanho do músculo? Ou serve mais pra fortalecimento
They will accomplish both things.
Helping my old man beach volleyball game!
Awesome!
is it okay to practice these when you're in low to moderate pain? it gets better after some massage and I've cut down my running training already.
thanks for the content!
Yes, these are fine to do even if they create mild to moderate discomfort. Tendons actually tend to get better when we load them heavy enough that some discomfort is created. If your pain is flared up the next day, then you know the exercise session was too intense and you may need to dial it back a bit.
I have a problem in my left calf. When i exercise my calves, soleus muscle does more work than gastrocnemius on my left leg. So my right calf grows bigger, but the left remains small, because the soleus grows instead of gastrocnemius. How to fix that? I tried many variations of the exercise, but nothing works. I can't say there's any damage in my muscle, but it's very hard to contract my left gastrocnemius
sir did u find any solution
Try Donkey calf raises, where your legs are straight but the upper body is at a 90 degree angle to the lower body. This position pre stretches the gastrocnemius and there is a lot of recent evidence that training muscles in their stretched position leads to more growth. Calf raises on a leg press machine follow the same principle.
Do you recommend grugs for this injury i got it from a vertical jump more than three months ،?
Sorry, what do you mean by ‘grugs’? If you meant drugs, then, no, I wouldn’t recommend them.
@@RehabScience hhhhhhh I mine medicine💊 I am not addicted
Has anyone made the connection between the soleus muscle and plantar fasciitis? I came across a comment in a 30 year old article in Runners World on weight training for long distance runners. The coach said that he rarely saw "heel pain" in runners who weight train. Could a fit soleus muscle reduce or eliminate plantar fasciitis problems?
The research definitely has demonstrated that calf raises are one of the best exercises for reducing symptoms associated plantar fasciitis. The research doesn’t necessarily cite soleus as being connected, but it does show that calf raises load and desensitize the plantar fascia.
Anything I did did not work for Plantar Fasciitis.
Then I did weighted calf raises and I am much better.
So, can the soleus muscle be responsible for my left knee, ankle and hip feeling weird and unstable?
Im very fit and always been exercising, but all of a sudden as a result of increased milage and a bit to intense weight training my foot and left side feel off.
The soleus muscle has been implicated more in running related pain issues, so it is possible that it is contributing to your symptoms. I would add these exercises to your routine a few times each week and see if your symptoms change.
@@RehabScience Thanks!!
hey did u add these exercises? i have that kind of pain in my soleus muscle. i hope you doing great!!
If I have acute shin splint pain, when should i start these exercises?
Usually, you want to start implementing these when they can be done with mild (3/10) or less pain. Or, you can start them when you can walk with minimal to no pain.
Bro make aa video to decrease very high arch
I will try to do one soon!
I can't do this with any of my leg
I am 54 years old and cannot get more than a mile into a run before I "strain" my calf (possibly my soleus). Crazy thing is after 24 hours I can walk on it with no pain. What am I injuring? Is this an actual strain, spasm, cramp???? I was a student trainer at FSU and I have tried everything I know.
It’s likely not a strain if you recover that quickly and probably more of a sensitivity. Have you tried implementing a graded exposure program where you very slowly expose the area to more and more stress. Stop running right at the flare up point and then try to add a tiny bit more volume at the next session? Soleus strength is hugely tied to achilles and calf health in runners, so I would definitely also recommend doing the exercises in this video. Do you also practice single-leg hopping and/or jump roping? These things can also help condition the muscles and tendon for plyometric tasks.
@@RehabScience the hard part is it just goes suddenly, no build up. Feels just like a pull but heals too quickly. I can walk at 4.5-4.7 for an hour and nothing, same with elliptical, but running always pulls it. I do some jump rope (100 reps x 6 sets) in 10-minute intervals separated by walking on treadmill at 4.0-4.5. I will try these. Thanks!
Did these exercises help get over the soleus strain while running?
I’m experiencing the same thing right now. No issue with walking or other activities but after about 5 mins of running my soleus begins to cramp pretty bad. Thanks!
guys did u find any solution
you should try to verify the effectiveness of these exercises with a cgm.
No, that wouldn’t be useful in the physical therapy world. Exercises are verified for rehab purposes with EMG (electromyography).
Soleus is considered the primary propulsion muscle in running and walking. It is very powerful. If you only need some sort of rehabilitation, the exercises described here are ok.
If you need strength in order to solve a imbalance or get better at running fast, a seated calf raises with a dumbell on top is not enough to really overload it. The tiptop walk looks more like a static exercise. Not enough range of motion. The unilateral soleus calf raise shown in this video works but i still belive at some point you will have to overload with a dumbell in one hand.
If you have acces to a gym, sit on a bench inside the smith machine or sit on a biceps femoris curl machine (like on a chair) and put something under the front of the foot in order to get maximal stretch. Exercise each one leg, start with at least half your body weight and progress from there.
I agree that loading this muscle more heavily later in the rehab process often is beneficial and important. However, many of the people who watch my channel request exercises that can be done without a lot of equipment, which is why I showed the ones I did in this video.
Why is it that the more I exercise my inner calf muscles the thinner they seem to get? I've been trying for years...
Many people struggle with developing their calf muscles. If you’re only using bodyweight, I would suggest adding more external load. One easy way is to hold a dumbbell in one hand, and then do calf, raises or, if you have access to a leg press machine, do heavier calf raises on that machine.
Why we bent our knees to get the soleus contraction?
ik that GNM. helps us in the flexion of the knee and planterflexion of the ankle joint. but how can we say that after bending the knee the Soleus is fully contracting not GNM.
Bending the knee puts gastrocnemius into a position of active insufficiency, so more of the load is carried by soleus.
@@RehabScience okay thanks:)
As i Runner, i tried my Luck on having the adhesion removed from the Soleus/Gastrocnemious Area on my right leg. But Instead of targeting adhesion on the certain spots, the massage Guy immediatly went full power without any palpating. He put full preassure and body weight on the whole calf Area with very little oil, using only high direct preassure in rather fast upwards motions only and without any Dorsi/Plantarflexion. HIGHLY PAINFULL. He Said IT has to be done/hurt this way. I aborted after 15min. Now slightest Touch of the calf hurts and a weird Feeling / pain seems to be created since the "Treatment" on the back of my right knee and also the groin Area when Walking. I believe due to the repeating high preassure motions performed on the Leg, a certain Nerv might now be compressed. Should i try my Luck on a New therapist asap or Just leave the brutally massaged Area Alone for a while?
Sorry to hear this happened to you. I would definitely find a new therapist. The idea that soft tissue work needs to be painful to be helpful is extremely outdated. In the meantime, I would give the area a few days to calm down and would use gentle mobility exercises (ankle pumps, stationary bike, slow walking) to help it recover. Once the area has calmed down, the soleus exercises in this video would be good to implement, especially since soleus weakness has been linked to achilles issues in runners.
@@RehabScience You May find this funny, but IT took me years to even find Out, that there is something called adhesion that can build Up in between muscle Areas. Here in Vienna Austria, No physical "Special" therapists (contacted about 25 over ten years) and even many consulted doctors, even in Hospitals DO NOT KNOW what a chronic compartment Syndrom (runners compartment syndrom) is and are also Fully unaware of the existence of the less serious Stage, "adhesion of certain muscles"
I was left for many years with "you dont have thrombosis, and therefore No accute compartment Syndrom is visible".
So there is IS nothing we can further do for you. Relax and use Magnesium Supplement was the doctors only advice 👍
After recently finding out about adhesion, i contacted a local massage therapists WHO Claims to be a physical expert.
He had no Idea what i was talking about and im now left with what seems to be a compressed nerv, thats ranging from calf, over the Back of the knee- Up to the hip and right side groin 🙄
I tried hot baths, cold baths, anti inflamatory meds, Infrared light therapy, and a TENS device. The pain still constantly present. Any Idea which Nerv(s) could be the Reason? Or could there be a more serious Problem caused when performing brutally hard "massage"?
One thing I remember before aborting the Treatment, the massage Guy suddendly pushed some Sort of Metal pen Very hard and painfully against the back of my toes and then even tried this on the Sole of my other foot (after i told him that His massage caused high pain in the Leg).
Could this cause some nerve issues? If so which nerve could cause this widespread pain Up to the groin? 🙏Thx for your time.
PLEASE do not need English words on screen only TALK gives Good understanding . . IT. IS DISTURBING OUR ATTENTION. PLEASE NOTE . ONLY EDUCATED WILL LISTEN ENGLISH. .THANKS 👍
You can turn off subtitles.
In pronouncing the muscle "Gastrocnemius", kindly do not sound the "C" in the word. It is silent
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
This type of exercise is similar to Muslims offer prayers in sijjadha and rokhu
Call me sir