You’re Wasting Energy And You’ll Never Guess Why. An internal signal that tells your calf muscles to shorten and become stiff is your nervous system – your brain, spinal cord, and nerves – not knowing that it is safe to enter greater ranges of motion at your ankle and knee. That is, until they demand your attention with that nagging, tight feeling. A chain of muscles is stimulated to “swing” the right leg while a different chain of muscles is stimulated for “stance and push off” on the other side. When this compensation is in play, you may observe that the person “bounces” or seems to walk on their toes. “Todd has helped me to learn to listen to my body and notice when compensations occur. Have you ever heard the term “glute amnesia”? If you’ve got a case of “glute amnesia” on one side (or both sides) then your body will have to figure out another way to drive you forward. In order to get your muscles to be less stiff and thus make your joints have more range of motion, you have to send active inputs to them. One external signal that tells your calf muscles to shorten, and thus get tighter, is wearing heeled shoes. The Discovery Visit is simply a chance for you to make sure you’re confident about the path I suggest before you make any financial investment with me…no risk on your part! Tight calves, and foot and ankle issues can range from feeling uncomfortable to being downright painful, and this article will help you understand why tightness in the ankle and calves … Tightness in the calf muscle is also sometimes a symptom of overuse so if you are experiencing some pain and stiffness it might be signal from your body that you are overtraining. Never bounce when stretching.… You may also have muscle pains, cramping, and discomfort. Work with a coach or physio to help you rebuild any lost function that occurred due to these old injuries. Muscle stiffness is when your muscles feel tight and you find it more difficult to move than you usually do, especially after rest. He has taught me proper breathing mechanics that are essential for everyone. Copyright © 2013 Fit For Real Life | All Rights Reserved, Muscles can get tight or stiff-feeling for a number of reasons, but they, How To Get Out Of Your Head & Perform Better →, Tight Calves: Why, How, & What To Do With Them, This error message is only visible to WordPress admins, how your body develops different ranges of motion, Passive Range Of Motion & Active Range Of Motion: Why Your Mobility Depends On Both, Grow Yourself A Shoe | All About The Foot’s Fatty Padding. Think about how many steps you take in a day….2,000 steps if you’re rather sedentary, or over 10,000 if you’re reasonably active. The buttock is important to pull your hip into extension, which brings your body’s center of mass in front of the ankle. Yes, a muscle can twitch because of reflex activity…but that’s not the same as movement. Tight calves may be the result of a strain or tear in one of the calf muscles or it could be due to a cramp or spasm in the muscle, which is painful but usually short-lived and treated by stretching. It’s likely that even an activity as simple as standing is performed with a compensation that “overlooks” the glutes. In fact, your body may not even adequately activate the butt in the very exercise you chose based on the promises of whatever internet guru’s website you landed on. Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. In fact it’s one of the awesome feats your body is capable of —your body has adapted to a challenge it perceives in order to complete the task of “stance and push off” on that side of the body. Tight calves, and foot and ankle issues can range from feeling uncomfortable to being downright painful, and this article will help you understand why tightness in the ankle and calves happen, plus what you can do about it. Todd was able to pinpoint some mobility and movement problems I had immediately. Please understand that no treatment will be provided at the Discovery Visit. That in itself is a beautiful thing — it’s what creates adaptability. This simple activity is part of the normal gait process. Picture your body standing still — it’s an activity that requires extension of the hips, which is (of course) controlled by the buttocks. There may be an issue with the Instagram access token that you are using. If your nervous system does not deem it ‘safe’ for you to enter a range of motion because you have not taught it otherwise, you will feel tightness or stiffness as your nervous system disallows the motion. Giving your muscles a bit of pampering sure feels good, but you never changed WHY they got tight (i.e., the reason your nervous system created an adjustment in the motor pattern). Causes of tight calves can include: Cramps. Then slowly start pressing the bottom of your foot down into the ground as if you were pressing down a gas pedal. The video went viral (see below). Your nervous system creates patterns of movement involving muscles throughout the body in order for you to complete a task. Let’s break it down…. Muscles can get tight or stiff-feeling for a number of reasons, but they all boil down to one simple equation: a signal coming into your body was responded to by your body.