Anatomy & Stretching 101 Anterior Leg

Muscles of anterior compartment of leg • The four muscles in the anterior compartment of the leg are the tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus, extensor hallucis longus, and fibularis tertius (Image B).

• These muscles pass and insert anterior to the transversely oriented axis of the ankle (talocrural) joint and, therefore, are dorsiflexors of the ankle joint, elevating the forefoot and depressing the heel.

• The long extensors also pass along and attach to the dorsal aspect of the digits and are thus extensors (elevators) of the toes.

• Dorsi flexion is a relatively weak and short movement – only about a quarter the strength of plantarflexion (Soderberg, 1986), with a range of about 20° from neutral – dorsiflexion is actively used in the swing phase of walking, when concentric contraction keeps the forefoot elevated to clear the ground as the free limb swings forward.

• During standing, the dorsiflexors reflexively pull the leg (and thus the centre of gravity) anteriorly on the fixed foot when the body starts to lean (the centre of gravity begins to shift too far) posteriorly.

• When descending a slope, especially if the surface is loose (sand, gravel, or snow), dorsiflexion is used to “dig in” one’s heels.

IMAGE B