One of the most frequent reasons people ask for a visit for sporting podiatry in the Institut Català del Peu is due to a muscular excess weight on gastrocnemius or soleus.
This kind of problems are very usual among sportsmen/sportswomen, particularly runners. It is fundamental a sporting podiatric assessment in order to determine to which intrinsic and extrinsic factors of the sportsman/sportswoman are due to the excess weights. That is to say, if it is due to biomechanical problems of some articulation, biomechanical problems of the foot (or commonly known as a “bad footstep”), if it is due to inappropriate shoes, an inappropriate planning, lack of strength, inappropriate running technique, etc. Therefore, the ideal is to carry out a multidisciplinary work in order to analyze all these factors and give a solution to the sportsman/sportswoman. And this is the way we work in the Institut Català del Peu.
Before continuing, we explain concisely that soleus and gastrocnemius muscles belong to the sural triceps muscular group, where the gastrocnemius are in charge of moving the ankle-foot on, mainly the plantar flexion of the ankle and the soleus are stabilizers of the foot-ankle, above all in the impacts. They are very important structures in the runner in order to stabilize the foot-ankle in the impacts and to create the impulse of the body during the last stage of the single leg support. When the foot-ankle has certain biomechanical problems in impacts like in running, the gastrocnemius and soleus use to work in an inappropriate way and slightly out of their ideal levels of work.
Our experience in the Institut Català del Peu, has showed us that either due to inadequate biomechanics in the ankle-foot or by a joint misalignment on other joints and, therefore, inadequate biomechanics in these joints, these excess weights appear where most of runners fit in view of them, making a very common mistake. The key is to make working the strength of these muscular structures which overload. The mistake is because we are subjecting to a bigger charge of work to these muscles when the main problems are that there have been a series of biomechanical disruptions which do not make work properly other musculature at other articular levels (sometimes also by a lack of strength work or a right muscular activation), and make gastrocnemius or soleus to carry out bigger efforts which they are not prepared. Consequently, appear these muscular excess loads. We have to remember that a runner who is tired will always try to arrive to the finishing line whichever will be the tiredness, and he/she will move his/her feet, therefore, always with the mechanical movement of soleus and gastrocnemius. Therefore, the common error is to make work more the soleus and gastrocnemius (therefore more work charge during training), instead of training those muscles which tire them out or do not move correctly. This is more obvious and painful for the runner by the impacts in the contact, where the overexertions of these muscles reach places where the cushioning of the impact is very inadequate, still bringing about more these excess loads.
When the sportsman/sportswoman goes to the Institut Català del Peu to carry out a podiatric sporting analysis, the first thing we do is a complete exploration of foot (in a couch, in charge on the podoscope, in the pressure platform . . .), including the survey of walking on static and dynamics, in order to carry out subsequently other tests in the rest of the articulations of the body and about sporting actions (depending on each case), knowing in advance the possible consequence the foot has on the biomechanics of the foot and the rest of articulations. That is to say, we already know if the kind of foot and footstep is going to be the cause of possible biomechanical problems, which according to its nature, can be the origin of these muscular excess loads. The rest of tests which we carry out are to detect short mobility levels, level of flexibility, strength and technical level about the implementation of sporting acts like running, because these are going to be determining and key factors to give rise to the excess loads, above all, if there is a biomechanical trouble in the foot-ankle and we consider it like a possible trigger. And, if there is a disalignment between the ankle-foot, it is very probable that it will affect the articular alignment of the knee, and consequently, in the hip. That is to say, these articulations could misalign from the biomechanical trouble in the foot-ankle. Therefore, the musculature will not be working properly at different articular levels and appear these muscular excess loads, very common in soleus and gastrocnemius. And, we can run although we do not activate correctly or in its range a half gluteus or a bigger gluteus, and we will go on moving our feet under the mechanical act of soleus and gastrocnemius, in spite of the general fatigue, what really happens is that these ones will be taking on a bigger effort by those muscles which do not work well. Thus, we said before that it is a common mistake to believe that more strength should be worked on of soleus and gastrocnemius because these ones overload. What really happens is that they are forced to work beyond their muscular mechanical training.
Finally, when we get it clear which the problem is, that causes the muscular excess loads of soleus and gastrocnemius, that is to say, if they start on foot or from other articular level, we decide to resolve it. The solution will be a set of measures, that will range from a possible improvement of the biomechanics of foot with plantar support, the muscular work, which will always be a part of the solution, to improvement works of technique, strength and flexibility. The sportsman/sportswoman brings home a list of homework with physical exercises, besides he/she will know how to carry out them and how to plan them in order to create a logical training session. When the sportsman/sportswoman starts to plan his/her exercises in a few time, it creates enough muscular adjustments in order to make disappear the muscular excess loads.