Coffey Ryan, Khan Yusuf S.
Martin Army Community Hospital
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Calf injuries are quite common amongst athletes and involve the gastrocnemius, soleus, popliteal, and plantaris muscles. A gastrocnemius rupture can result in significant pain, limping, and swelling of the posterior calf as well as substantial functional impairment. Proper diagnosis of this injury from other injuries in this anatomical area of the lower leg is essential to efficient management and recovery in athletes. The gastrocnemius is the most superficial muscle and bulky among the muscles in the back (posterior compartment) of the leg. It has two head (lateral and medial) taking origin from the two respective condyles of the femur. Few fibers also take origin from the capsule of the knee joint. The muscle is inserted into the calcaneus bone along with muscle soleus by a common, long, and thick tendon called tendocalcaneus or Achilles tendon. Sometimes the soleus, along with the two heads of gastrocnemius, is considered as a single muscle and referred to as triceps surae. Supplied by the tibial nerve and posterior tibial artery, this muscle is the chief plantar flexor of the ankle. It was also believed to assist in propelling force during walking. But recent studies clearly signify that the triceps surae do not help in propulsion but only support the body at the time of walking and prevent falling. The medial head is the larger as well as muscular head and has been identified to have more contribution to ankle torques than its counterpart in the sagittal plane.
小腿损伤在运动员中相当常见，涉及腓肠肌、比目鱼肌、腘肌和跖肌。腓肠肌断裂会导致小腿后部剧痛、跛行和肿胀，以及严重的功能障碍。将这种损伤与小腿这个解剖区域的其他损伤正确诊断出来，对于运动员的有效治疗和康复至关重要。腓肠肌是小腿后部（后侧间室）肌肉中最表浅且最粗壮的肌肉。它有两个头（外侧头和内侧头），分别起自股骨的两个髁。少数纤维也起自膝关节囊。该肌肉通过一条称为跟腱或阿基里斯腱的共同、长且厚的肌腱，与比目鱼肌一起附着于跟骨。有时，比目鱼肌与腓肠肌的两个头被视为一块肌肉，称为小腿三头肌。由胫神经和胫后动脉供血，这块肌肉是踝关节的主要跖屈肌。过去人们还认为它在行走时有助于产生推进力。但最近的研究清楚地表明，小腿三头肌在推进过程中并无帮助，只是在行走时支撑身体并防止摔倒。内侧头是较大且肌肉较发达的头，已被确定在矢状面中对踝关节扭矩的贡献比外侧头更大。
