There are different theories about the etymological origin of the term calf. Thus, there are those that indicate that it derives from Portuguese and there are others that establish that it comes from Galician. Be that as it may, in both cases the word from which it derives is "panturra", which can be translated as "belly". And that, in turn, derives from the Latin "pantia", which is synonymous with "belly". In this way, it was determined that the calf became the "belly" or "belly" of the leg.
The sector of the leg located below the hamstring (the part opposite the knee) is called the calf . The calf is characterized by being a very fleshy area.
It can be said that the calf is the posterior region of a person's leg , specifically the one that develops below the back of the knee . Therefore it is below the popliteal or hamstring fossa and reaches up to the ankle . In front of the calf are the fibula and tibia bones.
Popularly, to refer to the aforementioned calf, words such as shin or calf are also used.
The calf is made up of the triceps surae . This muscle , in turn, is made up of three muscles: the two gastrocnemius (often referred to as the gastrocnemius ) and the soleus .
The soleus muscle is very important for standing and walking. It allows you to raise the heel and flex the foot, for example. The calves , meanwhile, have the main function of providing the impulse to start walking .
Calf injuries are common among athletes, especially athletes. If overstretched, the triceps surae can be pulled , strained , or torn .
The usual thing is that the damage occurs when the athlete must accelerate suddenly , with which a push is made with the foot . Soccer players and tennis players, to mention two possibilities, often get injured by overloading the calf.
The aforementioned strain is one of the most common injuries. It occurs when what is known as elongation of one or several calf muscles takes place.
Among the symptoms that indicate this are both severe pain in the area and experiencing a stinging sensation. If this strain is mild, the person will be able to continue carrying out the activity they were carrying out, although they will notice a lot of tightness in the muscle.
On the other hand, if the aforementioned strain is serious, you will not even be able to put your leg on the ground.
Among the causes of this injury may be not having warmed up sufficiently before exercising, the muscles being weakened or the recovery time between training sessions being too short, among others.
There are injuries that occur over time due to excessive use of the calf muscles. Others are acute injuries , since the problem arises suddenly. The subject may experience anything from simple discomfort to intense pain that prevents them from walking normally.