Foot & ankle

Tendons

• Achilles tendon

  The tendon that joins the calf muscles to the heel bone. How it stores and returns energy, how it wears or tears, how slowly it adapts and heals, and what it works with.

• Peroneal tendons

  The two tendons that run behind the outer ankle bone to the foot. Where they run, what holds them in place, how they tear or slip out of place, what studies of recovery found, and what they work with.

• Tibialis anterior tendon

  The tendon at the front of the ankle that carries the pull of the muscle that lifts the foot. How it carries load, how it tears or wears, what is known about recovery, and what it works with.

• Tibialis posterior tendon

  The tendon that turns behind the inner ankle bone and fans out under the foot. How it holds up the arch, how it wears, what studies of exercise and surgery found, and what it works with.

Ligaments

• Ankle syndesmosis

  The ligaments that bind the lower ends of the shinbone and fibula just above the ankle. What they hold, how high ankle sprains happen and in whom, and what studies found about recovery.

• Deltoid ligament

  The broad, fan-shaped ligament on the inner side of the ankle. Its two layers and six bands, the movements it resists, how and in whom it gets sprained, and what studies report after injury.

• Lateral ankle ligaments

  The three ligaments on the outer side of the ankle, the ATFL, CFL and PTFL. What each one holds back, how they tear when the ankle rolls, who sprains them, and what studies found about healing.

Cartilage & fascia

• Plantar fascia

  The band of tough tissue along the sole, from the heel bone to the toes. How it holds up the arch, what walking and running ask of it, how it thickens or tears, and what studies found about how it changes.

Muscles

• Foot muscles

  The small muscles that start and end inside the foot. How they are layered in the sole, what they do for the arch and the toes, what studies of foot pain and flat foot found, and how they respond to training.

Bones

• Calcaneus

  The heel bone, the largest bone of the foot. How it carries body weight and the pull of the calf, how it breaks down, how its growth plate closes, and what attaches to it.

• Metatarsals

  The five long bones of the forefoot. How they carry load in walking and running, where and in whom they crack under repeated stress, what studies of fifth metatarsal fractures found, and what attaches to them.

• Navicular

  A boat-shaped bone at the top of the foot's inner arch. Where it sits and how it is loaded, why its stress fractures are slow to show and slow to heal, and what studies of casts and surgery found.

Joints

• Ankle joint

  The joint where the shin bones grip the top of the talus. How it moves, what holds it together, how it gets sprained and worn, what studies found about healing, and what crosses it.

Stretches

• Plantar fascia stretch

  A stretch that pulls the toes back toward the shin to tension the band of tissue along the sole. What studies measured in the fascia, muscles and nerves, and what trials in people with heel pain found.

Conditions

• Achilles tendon rupture

  A sudden tear of the tendon that joins the calf muscles to the heel bone. How reviews define it, who it affects, how recovery runs over time, and what trials comparing surgery with no surgery found.

• Ankle sprain

  An injury to the ligaments on the outer side of the ankle, usually from rolling the foot inward. How research defines it, who it affects, how it tends to go, and what trials of casts, braces, exercise and surgery found.

• Plantar heel pain

  Pain under the heel, often called plantar fasciitis. How a guideline and reviews describe it, who it affects, how it changes over years, and what trials of stretching, exercise, orthoses, shockwave, injections and surgery found.

• Sever's disease

  Heel pain at the growth plate of a child's heel bone, also called calcaneal apophysitis. How a Cochrane review describes it, which children studies found it in, how it changes over time, and what trials found.

• Turf toe

  A sprain of the joint at the base of the big toe. How studies define and grade it, who gets it, what is known about playing surfaces and shoes, and what the small body of outcome research found.

Exercises that load this area

Filed under another area, but connected to an entry here.

• Box jump

  A jump up and forward onto a box. What the few box jump studies measured at take-off and landing, what jumps from the ground show about the muscles and tendons, and what injury surveys reported.

• Burpee

  A bodyweight move from standing to a squat, a plank and back up, often with a push-up and a jump. What studies measured of its demand, what burpee training trials found, and how thin the evidence on its muscles is.

• Calf raise

  An exercise that works the muscles at the back of the lower leg. What the studies measured it loading, from the calf muscles to the Achilles tendon, and what is known about how tendons adapt.

• Drop landing

  Stepping off a platform and landing, as in drop landings and drop jumps. What studies measured it loading, from the thigh muscles to the knee and ankle ligaments, and what landing tests have and have not predicted.

• Eccentric heel drop

  A calf exercise built around lowering the heel. What studies measured it loading in the Achilles tendon and calf muscles, how knee angle changes the picture, and what one session does to the tendon.

• Pogo hops

  Repeated two-legged hops with nearly straight knees and short ground contacts. What hopping studies measured at the ankle, calf muscles, Achilles tendon and foot, and what hopping programmes changed.

• Running

  Steady distance running. Which muscles studies found doing the work, what models estimate it loads from the foot to the knee, and what reviews found on foot strike, shoes, training load, progression and injury.

• Single-leg squat

  A squat on one leg. What studies measured it loading, from the buttock muscles to the kneecap joint and the ACL, and what it showed when used as a test of how the knee moves.

• Sprinting

  Running as fast as possible. How a sprint unfolds, which muscles studies found doing the work, what sprint programmes changed, and what studies of sprint exposure and hamstring injury found.

• Tibialis raise

  Lifting the front of the foot toward the shin, called dorsiflexion. What lab studies of dorsiflexion training measured, since none tested the wall-supported tibialis raise itself.