Hey, guys. Doctor Clayton Roach here today. I’m discussing the four muscles below the knee that you need to be stretching. If you’re a runner or you simply just have that knee pain that isn’t going away. So there are four muscles I’m going to go through all of them. The first one is on the outside of the leg here, close to what’s called the fibula. So here you have a group of muscles called the peroneal muscles. It’s a fancy word, but it’s a group of muscles that lie on the outside part of the knee. And they will affect, inevitably, anybody who’s doing any running or that has chronic knee pain. I have with me here a foam roller, probably one of the best tools you can have in order to create a good stretching routine for yourself. What you’re going to do is you’re going to place the foam roller down on the floor, and you’re going to put the outside part of your leg on that foam roll. So what you’re going to do is you’re simply going to go from the ankle all the way up to the knee and just roll back and forth. Now this does create a little bit of tenderness. Some of you may call it pain, but it should be a good type of a pain or a tenderness, one that you know is just caused from the muscle stretching.
And probably the fact that you haven’t done this in a while. So I would spend a good 30 to 45 seconds, if not a minute, rolling back and forth on those peroneal muscles that are located again on the outside part of the leg, the peroneal muscles. Very important when you’re running or if you have chronic knee pain, the next muscle I’m going to get you to stretch. If you’re having pain while you’re running or just again, simply just chronic knee pain is situated on the front part of the leg, on the outside part of the shin, and that muscle is called a tibialis anterior, also known as the muscle that creates shin splints. So what you’re going to do here again, by using a foam roller, a great tool, very inexpensive, you’re going to put the front part of your leg on that foam roll. But again, on the outside part of the shin, you don’t want to be rubbing right on the bone. So you’re going to basically go straight and then tilt a little bit to the outside, and you will feel that I’m feeling that right now. And what you’re going to do then is you’re going to take your foot and you’re going to turn it in, okay. To make sure that you’re leaning on the outside part of the shin. Next, just go back and forth.
Now you should be in a you should be able to be in a runner’s stance here. And you’ve got your foot turned inwards and you’re just going back and forth right down to the ankle and up to the bottom part of the knee. Now I can definitely feel that. So you’re going to do about 35, 45 seconds. Um, and you can probably do up to a minute and make sure you’re taking your time again. There should be a little bit of tenderness there. Again, some of you might, may call it pain, but you know, inherently that it’s just caused by the muscle that just needs a good stretch. All right. So this muscle again is known as the tibialis anterior. The muscle that creates shin splint on the outside part of the shin bone a great stretch if you’re having pain while you’re running after running or just chronic knee pain. The next muscle we’re going to be discussing that, uh, lies underneath the knee. So we’re talking about the four muscles that need to be stretched. If you’re having any pain while running after running or just chronic knee pain, we’re talking about those four muscles that are below the knee. This next one here can widely be overlooked unless you’ve really researched how to rehab the knee. It’s called your flexor hallucis longus. I know it’s a big word.
We usually abbreviate it. The FHL flexor means flexing. So it’s curling, right? Flexing extension. So flexor hallucis means big toe longus means that there’s another muscle somewhere that’s called brevis, meaning it’s a shorter one. So this is the longer one. Flexor hallucis longus the muscle that flexes the big toe. So in order to know what that muscle does, you need to know where it’s at. So the muscle basically lies underneath the big toe. It goes underneath, climbs over here and attaches to the back side of the fibula. So when the muscle contracts, it’s actually going to bring the big toe down. So what do you do to stretch it. You got to bring the big toe up right. So here’s what I’m going to encourage you to do. In order to stretch this muscle, you’re going to have to break an old rule that was based on dated information that the knee can’t go past the ankle, all right. Or the big toe, I’m sure you’ve heard that. Don’t let the knee go forward too far. Well, we’re going to break that rule because we’re going to stretch that flexor hallucis longus, which plays a major role in knee health. So what you’re going to do is you’re going to bend over that big toe. So you can see here I’m bending over that big toe. My knee is far forward, but I’m basically contacting the floor.
I’m in a runner’s stance and I’m going over that big toe, stretching that big toe back as far as I can. And that is going to stretch that famous FHL flexor hallucis longus muscle that goes right up and attaches back here, that can create knee pain amongst runners. Even if you’re walking chronic knee pain. This is a beautiful muscle to be stretched called the flexor hallucis longus. Hold that stretch for 25 30s. Come out of that stretch and go back into it and do it three times at least. And you’d want to do this on a regular basis, at least daily. So a great stretch right here. The last muscle you’re going to be stretching for chronic knee pain or pain that you’re having while running is going to be your gastroc your calf muscle. So you can do this with a foam roller. It’s very easy. You’re just going to put the foam roller behind your calf, and you’re just going to roll back and forth onto that calf. Now this feels pretty good. The calf is very sensitive, so you don’t have to be applying a lot of pressure to feel that stretch. You just want to make sure that you’re going all the way down to the Achilles tendon, all the way back to the back of the knee and back and forth.
Another great way to stretch it, though, is going to be to go past the ankle with your knee and bending from the ankle. So what this looks like is this. So I’m going past the toes. Past the ankle with my knee. I’m keeping the heel on the ground and I’m stretching the back part of my leg here called the calf muscle. And I’m holding that stretch for 25 to 30s coming out of that stretch, going back into it and doing this at least three times, at least once a day. This is very similar to the stretch for the flexor hallucis longus, the FHL. Except you’re not coming on your big toe. You’re staying flat on the ground with your foot without taking your heel off the ground, and you’re bending at the ankle to stretch the back part. All right. So this has been the four muscles that live below the knee that are giving you grief. I guarantee you if you’re having knee pain while you’re running, if you’re having just regular pain, pain while you go to get up off the chair, any knee swelling, this is going to be a huge help to relieve that pressure off the muscles that are attaching at the knee or nearby. All right, I hope you enjoyed this video. Check us out online. You can know where to find us YouTube, Instagram or everywhere. Take care.
