You have two soleus muscles located in each lower leg.
The word “soleus” comes from the Latin termsolea, which means sandal.
What Is the Soleus Muscle?
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The soleus muscle originates from the back side of your uppertibia, or shin bone.
Small slips of the muscle also arise from your fibular head and along the thin aponeurosis between yourfibulaand tibia.
The soleus muscle courses down the back of your lower leg and is located just beneath your largergastrocnemiusmuscle.
Function of the Soleus Muscle
The soleus muscles function to plantar flex your foot.
Plantar flexion is the direction of motion that occurs as your foot and toes point down.
The soleus works with your calf muscle to accomplish this task.
The gastrocnemius, a two-joint muscle, crosses your knee and your ankle.
It is an active plantar flexor of the ankle when your knee is straight.
The soleus, on the other hand, is a single joint muscle, crossing only the ankle.
The soleus is very active as an ankle plantar flexor when your knee is bent.
Your soleus muscle gets stretched a bit as you are walking and ascending and descending stairs.
It also is placed on stretch during running and activities that require jumping and hopping.
When this muscle is stretched, it stores energy which is then released when the muscle contracts and shortens.
The soleus a powerful muscle that is active with virtually all types of weight-bearing activities.
When you stand on one foot, the soleus muscle helps maintain proper balance.
The soleus muscle also functions to help pump blood from your lower leg back to your heart.
Your veins carry blood from your body to your heart.
Inside these veins are small “one-way” valves.
When your soleus muscle contracts, it acts like a sponge, pushing blood through your veins.
The one-way valves prevent blood from pooling back down into your lower leg.
The action of the muscles acting as spongy pumps is often referred to as the skeletal muscle pump.
Soleus Tear
Soleus tears can occur due to sudden, forceful movements or overuse.
Doctors usually diagnose it with a physical exam and imaging tests like an MRI or ultrasound.
It can be difficult to distinguish a soleus tear from a gastrocnemius tear.
In severe cases, surgery might be needed.
Recovery can take a few weeks for minor injuries to several months for more serious ones.
This condition shows up when a clot blocks the flow of blood from your lower leg to your heart.
A simple ultrasound test can be done to rule out (or in) a DVT.
Your PT can help determine the best ones for you.
This immobilization allows for the soleus muscle to heal and minimizes stress to your injured muscle.
Massage
Massage techniques may be used as part of your soleus physical therapy treatment.
Massage helps to improve local blood flow, increase tissue extensibility, and decrease pain.
Massage may also be used to manually push fluid away from your lower leg in attempts to decrease swelling.
Heat promotes circulation, and may help bring in blood and nutrients to the injured tissue.
Ultrasound
Ultrasoundis a deep heating modality occasionally used in physical therapy.
The e-stim may also decrease swelling around your lower leg.
Kinesiology Taping
A newer treatment for musculoskeletal injuries is calledkinesiology taping.
This involves placing strips of cloth tape over your injured body part.
The tape serves different functions depending on how it is placed and how much tension is on the tape.
This involves strengthening exercises for your lower legs and soleus.
Some courses of recovery are a bit shorter or longer depending on the severity of your injury.
Injury to the soleus may result in pain and limited walking and running ability.
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Bryan Dixon J.Gastrocnemius vs. soleus strain: how to differentiate and deal with calf muscle injuries.Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med.
