Calf raises

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Do calf raises strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles ? The exercise seems to be gaining traction for this purpose , but I have not come across any evidence that it does actually strengthen the intrinsics .

I have seen some evidence that it doesn't strengthen the intrinsics .

 

Some time ago Karen Mickle and her colleagues produced a paper (1) on the strengthening of intrinsic foot muscles via exercise .

Success was achieved but not with what the authors called " general foot exercises " .
They wrote -

• We compared a progressive strengthening program to a simple home-based foot exercise program.
• •Adherence to supervised, group exercise classes focussed on the feet was very high.
• •12 week progressive resistance training increases toe strength in older people.
• •General foot exercises (e.g. picking up marbles) do not increase toe strength.
• •Foot exercises improve balance in older people.

The non successful , at home exercises , included calf raises .

Can anyone on the arena enlighten me as to when calf raises became a successful , intrinsic strengthening exercise ?

(1)
Efficacy of a progressive resistance exercise program to ... - NCBI


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27780109
by KJ Mickle - ‎2016 - ‎Cited by 12 - ‎Related articles7 Oct 2016 - Electronic address: Karen.mickle@vu.edu.au. ... whether a progressive resistance training program, focused specifically on the foot muscles,

 

A few days ago I watched a podcast in which Dr Luke Kelly , on as a guest , discussed the subject of the intrinsic foot musculature with the program hosts .

It was an interesting watch but I was surprised to hear that Dr Kelly advocates calf raises as a means of strengthening the foot intrinsics . As far as I am aware there is no evidence whatsoever that this exercises strengthens the intrinsics .
On the other hand Mickles exercise band regime clearly works but was not mentioned at all in the podcast . Go figure !

 

Calf raises seem to be gaining traction as one of the exercises of choice for intrinsic foot muscle strengthening .

If you are doing a calf raise and have your centre of mass over the ball of the foot then ,when you press the toes down, you will move the centre of pressure anteriorly and lose balance . For this reason "normal " up and down calf raises will not target the intrinsics as much as people think .

If you could combine the calf raise with the toe press then you would engage the intrinsics but whether this is a good or safe exercise I cannot say .

Effective intrinsic foot muscle exercise are , not surprisingly, about creating pressure under the toes and not about lifting on the ball of the foot .

If the calf raise is to be recommended to patients then should it not be properly investigated ?

Gerry

 

Just starting to learn a little about ballet and watched a clip of Rudolph Nureyev dancing . He was moving about in demi pointe which means toes flat on the ground but with the ankle raised so that the foot is about as close as you can get to 90 degrees with the toes .

If moving around in this position in minimal shoes does not adequately strengthen the intrinsics for the purposes of injury prevention then I don't think single leg calf raises will either . Even if you do your calf raises on a sloping surface .
20 years of experience at the Australian ballet has taught the physios and dancers based there that additional intrinsic exercises are require .

Look up Susan Mayes .

 

From a recent paper on single leg heel raises ,LK Sarah et al 2021 .

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253276

Reading this paper, single leg heel raises seem to be about lower limb fatigability rather than absolute strength . If this exercise is not about ankle plantarflexor strength then expecting it to produce plantar intrinsic strengthening seems very optimistic .
"Impact statement

SLHR ( single leg heel raise ) performance is not a clinical assessment of plantar flexor strength but assesses dynamic lower extremity fatigability that is similar in males and females. Alternate clinical measures for maximal plantar flexion strength need to be developed."

 

So here is a paper on calf raises with and without an inclined block with female volleyball players as the subject group . This exercise ( block or no block ) will increase the flexor strength of the big toe, to a degree, after 11 weeks of training, but will not strengthen the lesser toes 2-5 .

Also, and this surprised me, calf raises did not increase ankle plantar flexor strength.

Not a lot of bang for your buck .

Effect of incline versus block heel-raise exercise on foot muscle strength and vertical jump performance – an 11-week randomized resistance training study

&
Loren Z. F. Chiu
Received 14 Sep 2022, Accepted 30 Jan 2023, Published online: 09 Feb 2023

• Download citation
  
• https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2023.2176353
• 
  
• ABSTRACT

Strengthening the toe flexors and ankle plantar flexors may improve vertical jump performance. One exercise that may be effective for concurrently strengthening these muscles is heel-raises performed on an incline. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of incline versus conventional (block) heel-raise exercise on hallux and II-V digit flexor strength, vertical jump performance, and ankle plantar flexor strength. Thirty-three female volleyball players were randomly allocated to perform incline (n = 17) or block (n = 16) heel-raise exercise for 11-weeks. Participants’ toe flexor strength, countermovement jump, approach jump, and ankle plantar flexor strength were assessed before, after 7 weeks, and after 11 weeks of exercise. There were no significant time-by-group interactions for any variable (p > 0.05). However, both groups improved their hallux flexor strength (Δ0.27 ± 0.50 N·kg−1; p < 0.05), and vertical countermovement (Δ1.2 ± 2.3 cm; p < 0.05) and approach (Δ1.9 ± 2.6 cm; p < 0.05) jump height from pre- to post-test. No changes were observed in the ankle plantar flexor or II-V digit flexor strength (n > 0.05). Both incline and conventional heel-raises improve toe flexor strength. Practitioners seeking to improve individuals’ foot function may consider incorporating incline or block heel-raises.