The Anatomical Legs

Often, when referring to the leg, the common usage is to think of it as the body part ranging from the thigh to the ankle. However, anatomically the leg is that part of the body from the knee to the ankle and consists of two bones, the tibia and the fibula. The larger of the two bones is the tibia (shin bone), which is weight bearing. The slender fibula (calf bone) acts as a stabilizer for the ankle. The ankle is actually a joint formed by the talus on the bottom (just above the heel) and the tibia and fibula.

Ranging from the heel to mid-calf is the well-known achilles tendon. The fleshy leg muscles that can be nice to knead in massage are the soleus and gastrocnemius. All of these can be seen in the image below.

Find a comfortable seat and take a few moments to massage one calf and then the other. As your hands move around each leg take note of the placement of bones and the sensations you feel in your legs.

As Katy Bowman has written in Dynamic Aging, stable walking requires a lot of ankle mobility [and it is the calf muscles that] often limit full motion of the ankle. One way to build ankle mobility is to practice strengthening the ankle and stretching the calves. For some movements that do just that hop on over to Katy’s 2020 Exercise Advent Calendar and try the first exercise, “Twist-Proof Ankles” Calf Elevators, and the second exercise, Calf Stretch With A Twist (1 of 2).