Calf Muscle Procedure

Calf strains are a very well known problem for runners, soccer and basketball players, gymnasts, and dancers, and even more common in athletes who are advancing in age. The calf muscle consists of nine different muscles; the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris muscles attach onto the heel bone and they all work together to produce the upward and downward motion of the foot (calf raise). The other six muscles cause knee, toe, and foot movements in different directions, however those muscles are not relevant to this particular study. The muscle we focused on was the gastrocnemius muscle during a calf raise. A calf muscle strain is graded according to the amount of muscle damage that has occurred: Grade 1 is mild or partial tearing of a few muscle …show more content…
To prevent future reinjury physical therapists will recommend an exercise program to stretch and strengthen the muscles around your ankle and knee to help prevent reinjury to your calf. That exercise program includes strength and flexibility exercises for the calf (e.g. Calf raises).
Electromyography (EMG) is the process of using an electromyograph machine to produce a record called an electromyogram. An EMG is a diagnostic procedure that assesses the health of muscles and the nerve cells that control that muscle. The motor neurons transmit electrical signals that cause the muscle you are studying to contract.
We hypothesize that calf raises will strengthen the gastrocnemius muscle and give the muscle a lower chance of tearing or being injured in any type of way. Using the EMG we tested that calf raise in concentric phase, which is the motion of doing a calf raise and we tested the calf raise in isometric phase, which is holding the calf raise in a flexed position for three