The calf muscle: It's back there working

Megan Johnson McCullough

Special to the Village News

The calf muscle is actually made up of two muscles: the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The gastrocnemius is the larger muscle that people see bulging out of the leg. It is a superficial muscle, meaning it is just under the surface of the skin, that has two heads. The soleus lives underneath the larger muscle. The two muscles taper together the bottom and head into the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon leads down to the heel. When movement occurs, such as walking, running or jumping, the calf muscle takes the lead and pulls the heel up for...