PODIATRIST DESCRIBES HOW LEG AND FOOT MUSCLES INTERACT

The feet control where we walk or run, but they can also have an effect on our knees, hips, and lower back. In the same vein, parts of our legs actually help control muscles in our feet. According to Lisa M. Schoene,  DPM, ATC, a triple board certified sports medicine podiatrist and athletic trainer practicing at Gurnee Podiatry & Sports Medicine Associates, there are 19 internal muscles and 13 external muscles that move the foot and toes. “The internal muscles move the toes and help to keep all the toes flat while walking and balancing,” she notes.

 

Dr. Lisa Schoene

 

“The external muscles originate below the knee and enter the foot to move the foot up-and-down, in and out, and [help] to lift the heel. In the leg, other than the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, there are five ‘secondary’ heel lifters. These are very important for running gait and are the posterior tibialis muscle, flexor digitorum longus, flexor hallucis longus, peroneus brevis and peroneus longus. These muscles help propel the foot forward and stabilize side to side as well,” says Dr. Schoene.

 

Source: Ashley Lauretta, Map My Run [8/16/19] 

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News.