What is the purpose of the leg muscles?
Your leg muscles help you move, carry the weight of your body and support you when you stand. You have several muscles in your upper and lower legs. They work together to enable you to walk, run, jump and flex and point your feet.
What is the purpose of the lower leg muscles?
Your lower leg muscles have many important jobs. They include:
Anterior muscles: These muscles help you lift and lower your foot and extend your toes. They are in the front (anterior) part of the lower leg.
Lateral muscles: Running along the outside of your lower leg, these muscles stabilize your foot when you’re walking or running. They also allow you to move your foot from side to side.
Posterior muscles: These muscles are in the back of your lower leg. Some are superficial (close to the surface of your skin) and some sit deeper inside your leg. They help you:
- Flex and point your toes.
- Jump, run and push off into a sprint.
- Lock and unlock your knee.
- Maintain good posture by stabilizing your legs.
- Stand up straight by supporting the arch of your foot.
What is the purpose of the upper leg muscles?
The muscles of the upper leg are very strong. They support your weight and help you move your hips and legs. Their jobs include:
Anterior muscles: These muscles stabilize your body and help with balance. They also allow you to:
- Bend and extend your knees.
- Flex your thigh at your hip joints.
- Rotate your legs at your hips.
Medial muscles: These muscles help with hip adduction (moving your leg toward the center of your body). They also allow you to flex, extend and rotate your thigh.
Posterior muscles: Providers also call these the hamstring muscles. They help you move your leg from front to back and rotate it at the hip socket.
ANATOMY
Where are the lower leg muscles located?
Your lower leg muscle anatomy includes:
Anterior muscles: You have four muscles in the anterior (front) part of the lower leg. They extend from your knee down to your foot. They are:
- Extensor digitorum longus.
- Extensor halluces longus.
- Fibularis tertius.
- Tibialis anterior.
Lateral muscles: The fibularis longus and fibularis brevis run along the outside (lateral part) of your lower leg. They start just below your knee and go down to your ankle.
Posterior: The muscles in the posterior (back) of your lower leg are:
- Calf muscles, which include the gastrocnemius and the soleus.
- Flexor digitorum longus.
- Flexor halluces longus.
- Popliteus, which sits deeper in your leg just behind your knee joints.
- Tibialis posterior.
