Tibialis Anterior - of the anterior lower leg

Tibialis Anterior is one of the well known lower leg muscles, maybe because it's

pretty obvious on most people :)

Tibialis: referring to the lower leg bone that the muscle runs along.

Anterior: lives on the front (aka "anterior") of the lower leg.

me activating Tibialis Anterior - it's muscle belly is right

under my finger see?

Tibialis Anterior Muscle Attachment Points

Origin:  lateral tibial condyle & the proximal 2/3 of the tibia* AND the proximal 2/3 of the interosseus membrane (see pic below) 

*the outside edge of the tibia (knee end aka proximal) right next to the fibula)

Insertion:  1st cuneiform & the first metatarsal

((aka just under the right side of your knee, travels down the tibia bone crossing at the front of the ankle, with its tendon inserting on the inside arch of your foot))

Tibialis Anterior Muscle Actions

a) dorsiflexion of the foot at the ankle joint

aka toes pointing up to the sky (& heel down towards ground)

do this 25x and feel your Tibialis Anterior BURN ;)

b) inversion of the foot at the @ the sub-talar joint:

'turning your ankle inwards'

Maintaining ankle range of motion, strength and balance between the muscles all around is so so important  - so important that I made a video about it enjoy ! :

Fibularis Tertius - of the lower leg

Yes! Another Fibularis muscle! Fibularis referring to the fibula bone the muscles attach to.

Fibularis Tertius lives in anterior compartment of the lower leg (the front of the body) whereas Fibularis Longus and Brevis live in the lateral compartment.

Fibularis Tertius Muscle Attachments

ORIGIN: distal 1/3 of the anterior fibula and the distal 1/3 of the interosseous membrane

INSERTION:  dorsal surface of the base of the 5th metatarsal

Fibularis Tertius is actually an extension of Extensor Digitorum longus ( a muscle we haven't covered yet!) - also of course in the anterior compartment of the lower leg/ankle.  In fact, Fibularis Tertius may not even be present in some folk!

Fibularis Tertius Muscle Actions

a) DORSI-FLEXION of the foot at the ankle joint

Dorsiflexion is when your bring your foot UP (heel down -toes up)

Dorsi refers to the dorsal surface of your foot (aka the the top of you foot).

b) EVERSION of the foot at the sub-talar joint

TERTIUS comes from the latin word meaning "third" - because this muscle is the third 'fibularis' (aka Peronneal) muscle.

But when I hear Tertius all I can think about is.....

Fibularis Brevis - a lower leg muscle

Fibularis Brevis is the sister muscle to Fibularis Longus and lives in the lateral compartment of the lower leg.  Lateral meaning 'furthest away from the midline (center) of the body 

- opposite of  'Medial'.

Fibularis: referring to the fibula (lower lateral leg bone)

Longus: if a muscle name includes the word longus - there is a good chance that there is a shorter version of this muscle.

Now would be a good time to mention that the fibularis muscles are also known as The Perroneal muscles - Perroneus Longs & Brevis - more of an old-school term ;) I prefer fibualris because these muscle run along side the fibula bone.

Fibularis Brevis Muscle Attachment Points

Origin:  Distal 1/2 of the lateral fibula

(distal meaning the half of the fibula bone that is furthest away)

Insertion:  Lateral surface of the base of the 5th metatarsal

(the 5th metatarsal is one of five long bones in your foot - it eventually turns into your pinky toe!)

The distal tendon of both brevis and longus  extend down to the outside ankle (aka lateral) just behind the lateral malleolus.

Fibularis Brevis Muscle Actions

a) plantarflexion of the foot at the ankle joint

b) eversion of the foot at the ankle joint 

a) Plantar-flexion aka "pump the breaks" - another way to plantar-flex would be 'heel lifts' (going from standing to balancing on your toes/balls of your feet)

b)  Eversion - big toe down! pinky toe up ! 

This is a great exercise - the fibularis muscles are weak on most people and need to be strengthened! 

Until next time! Where we'll be continuing down into the foot..

SOLEUS - lower leg muscle

We're still on the back of the lower leg,  getting into the more "superficial" ones now 

(ie - not as deep as tibialis posterior, and Tom, Dick, and Harry. :) 

The bulk of the muscle on the posterior leg that we see is mostly due to two muscles: Gastrocnemius (aka Gastrocs) & Soleus. I think that when most people refer to their 'calf muscles' - they are referring to Gastrocs & Soleus.

Soleus & Gastrocnemius are like bestfriends - together forming what is called "triceps surae" - both attaching to the achilles tendon on the back of your ankle.

Soleus is deeper, living underneath Gastrocs. But more on the Gastrocs NEXT week today is all about SOLEUS. 

SOLEUS Muscle Attachments:

Origin:  Head of Fibula & the proximal 1/3 of the fibula & the soleal line of the tibia

Insertion:  Calcaneus (aka heel bone)  via the Calcaneal tendon (aka Achilles tendon) 

SOLEUS muscle action:

plantarflexion of the foot at the ankle joint

flexes the foot to point the toes downward 

Did you know that Soleus translates to "fish belly" ? The muscle itself is kind of shaped like one I guess ;) Soleus is also a thick muscle responsible for the contours of the gastrocs being so visible..

 "behind every great gastrocs is a great soleus" 

And speaking of Sole...

Soul Train anyone...?

Rosie Perez on Soul Train

and who could forget Ursula and her "poor unfortunate soulsssss"...

Tune in next Monday for the other half  of 'triceps surae' - GASTROCNEMIUS (aka Gastrocs)

K bye!

Tibialis Posterior - of the deep posterior compartment of lower leg

We are still covering muscles of the "deep posterior compartment of the lower leg"

-deep meaning closest to the bone

-posterior meaning on the back of the leg

Tibialis Posterior is aka "Tom" of  Tom, Dick & Harry

,a group of 3 deep posterior lower leg muscles that share the same actions. These three

are often tight and need a good massage (especially runners!)

So deep that they live underneath the gastroc & soleus muscle (the more popular calf muscles we see) 'Tom' is also the largest of the three: 

Tibialis: refers to its attachment point on the Tibia (leg bone)

Posterior: on the back

TIBIALIS POSTERIOR MUSCLE ATTACHMENTS:

ORIGIN:  the proximal 2/3 of the posterior tibia, fibula and interosseus membrane*

*a connective tissue that stretches between the tibia & fibula (lower leg bones)

INSERTION:   navicular, cuneiforms, cuboid, and bases of 2nd thru fourth metarsals

*you can see why we include your foot as part of a lower leg treatment - many clients come in with a lower leg injury but say that foot massage is not necessary, 

Let's take a closer look at those insertion points on the Bottom of the foot!

TIBIALIS POSTERIOR MUSCLE ACTIONS:

1- plantar flexion of the foot at the ankle joint:

2- inversion of the foot at the subtalar joint:

kinda similar eh? I think you can help but invert a lil' whilst you plantar flex ;)

Next week we'll cover ' DICK' of

Tom Dick & Harry

Tom = Tibialis Posterior

Dick = Flexor Digitorum Longus

Harry = Flexor Hallucis Longus

'gangs all here' 

....speaking of.... remember that 90s comedy  3rd rock from the sun?

ever notice that the 3 guys names are

Tom, Dick and Harry ?!?!

Because they're aliens and just trying to fit in...

like every other 'Tom Dick & Harry' ! 

Haha Harry was the weird one..

1 of 3 Hamstrings: Biceps Femoris

We've covered SemiTendinosus & SemiMembranosus, so

Today we're talking about the 3rd and most lateral hamstring, 

Biceps Femoris.

Biceps: referring to the fact that this muscle has "two heads" or 'origins' - not to be confused with

biceps brachii (which is your ARM flexor!)

Femoris: referring to the femur (aka thigh bone)

Biceps Femoris muscle attachment points:

This muscle has two points of origin or "heads". The long head refers the origin that is furthest away from the insertion point. The long head is also more superficial & the short head origin is deeper.  And of course the short head would be closest the the insertion point.

Origin:  

Long Head: Ischial Tuberosity * & the sacrotuberous ligament
Short Head:  linea aspera and lateral supracondylar line of the femur.

Insertion: head of the fibula and the lateral tibial condyle

 

 The other two hamstrings attach on the inside (medial side) of the knee, whereas Biceps Femoris attaches to the lateral (outside) edge of the knee.

 *did you know that all three hamstrings share the same origin of ischial tuberosity?

Ischial tuberosities aka "sits bones", you know those points of the pelvis, butt bones if you will? here's a visual:

The hamstring muscle bellies turn into skinny tendons that cross the knee.

Because they cross both joints, the muscle actions will happen at the hip AND the knee:

Biceps Femoris Muscle Actions:

same actions as the other two hamstrings:

When we're talkin' hamstrings, there are two main actions that come to mind:

- Extension of the thigh at the hip joint (aka coxal joint)

- Flexion of the leg at the knee joint (aka the tibio-femoral joint)

But wait there's more!

Apparently Biceps Femoris also assists in:

'posterior tilt' of the pelvis at the hip joints

(tucking your tailbone down)

 And!

Biceps femoris is the only hamstring muscle that can laterally rotate the thigh @ the hip joint
AND the leg @ the knee joint - when the knee is flexed (!)

There are three hamstrings, located on the back of (posterior) thigh bone (thigh bone = femur).  

More specifically, they are tucked between Vastus Lateralis (quad group)

and Adductor Magnus (adductor group)

The term 'Hamstring' apparently comes from 18th century England. Butchers would display pig carcasses in their shop window by hanging them from the long tendons at the back of the knee. 
((I tried to find an image of this with no luck but I also didn't search too hard 
- maybe it's better that way ;))

 

1 of 3 Hamstrings: SemiMembranosus

Last week we got into the Hamstrings! 

We started with SemiTendinosus and Today we're talking SemiMembranosus

(see how I've capitalized the T in SemiTendinosus -and the M in SemiMembranosus? I just wanted to note that that is something that I do to help me distinguish between the two ;)

  SemiMembranosus  also lives deeper than - and larger than - SemiTendinosus.

okay, now forget T  :

SemiMembranosus

SemiMembranosis muscle attachment points:

Origin: Ischial Tuberosity *

Insertion: Posterior surface of the medial condyle of the tibia

((approx behind and just below the knee joint))

 *did you know that all three hamstrings share the same origin of ischial tuberosity?

Ischial tuberosities aka "sits bones", you know those points of the pelvis, butt bones if you will? here's a visual:

  The tibia is a lower leg bone, the larger one that mid way down we refer to as our shin (bone)

This muscle also attaches to the medial meniscus of the knee ( a pad of cartilage wedge between your femur (thigh) bone and your tibia.  Medial Meniscus helps to reduce friction in the knee joint.

Here is a view of the back of the knee (aka Posterior view)

Posterior View of knee joint. 

not shown: Lateral menisus (also wedged between just on the outside (lateral) side of the knee joint.

The hamstring muscle bellies turn into skinny tendons that cross the knee.

Because they cross both joints, the muscle actions will happen at the hip AND the knee:

SemiMembranosus Muscle Actions:

same actions as last week's SemiT

When we're talkin' hamstrings, there are two main actions that come to mind:

- Extension of the thigh at the hip joint (aka coxal joint)

- Flexion of the leg at the knee joint (aka the tibio-femoral joint)

But wait there's more!

Apparently SemiMembranosus also assists in:

'posterior tilt' of the pelvis at the hip joints

(tucking your tailbone down)

medial rotation of leg at hip joint

(imagine standing on one leg and then turn the lifted ankle INwards)

But wait!

-WHEN the knee is flexed, it is said that medial rotation of the knee @ the t/b joint is possible 

(say whaaaat? sounds unfortable - I imagine it's just a micro movement -barely noticable)

Alsoooo...

Standing up and sitting down would be really difficult to do with our hamstrings!

Hamstrings can get tight from too much sitting :(

There are three hamstrings, located on the back of (posterior) thigh bone (thigh bone = femur).  

More specifically, they are tucked between Vastus Lateralis (quad group)

and Adductor Magnus (adductor group)

One more Ham to go!