Four stretches to relax the calves

We call them “the calves” because they look like two identical ones, although in reality it is only one, split into two almost identical halves. Perhaps also because their real name, gastrocnemius (musculus gastrocnemius), is strange and complicated, so simplifying its name seems to us a sensible measure.

In everyday life, mentions of the calves are usually related to the problems they cause when they are very tight, with contractures that, interestingly, are suffered both by those who play sports and by those who lead a sedentary life.

How to relax them?

In this case, as with other muscles (adductors, hamstrings, biceps femoris), it is possible to perform stretches that, turned into a routine, can help prevent that uncomfortable and painful tension.

1. The simplest thing is to stand facing a wall, rest your forearms on it, place your head on them, position your feet about 70 centimeters away (depending on each person’s height), always keeping the soles flat on the floor. Then lower your hips slightly, bend one leg a little and stretch the calves of the other. After a few seconds, switch legs.
2. You can also do it, although it requires more flexibility and balance, by standing, slightly separating your legs and grabbing the tip of your left foot with your right hand while keeping the opposite leg slightly bent; then switch to left hand and right foot.
3. Another option is to use a curb or a step where you place the tip of your foot while you press your heel downward.
4. Finally, you can stretch the calves by standing on tiptoe and lowering the heel a limited number of times (for example, in three sets of five stretches).

A final tip

Although non‑athletes tend to do these exercises (and others we will talk about on future occasions) only when they suffer a contracture, the ideal is to do them regularly, incorporating them into a routine that will only steal a few minutes each day but will help improve our muscle tone.

In our medical practice we hear about them quite often, since there are many patients, men and women, who want to change the shape of their legs, of their calves. And for them there is the possibility of increasing the size of the calves through the implant of an appropriate prosthesis.

If you want more information, contact our team at Clínicas Fernández Blanco, call 915 54 09 24 (Madrid) or 952 850 468 (Marbella, Málaga).