functional exercise: gastrocnemius stretch on the block

yoga book / functional exercises / gastrocnemiusdehnung am klotz

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Last updated: 27 Sep 2024
Name: Brineus expansion at block
Level: A

Classification

Classic: Functional exercise
physiological: excellent posture for stretching the gastrocnemius through maximum dorsiflexion of the ankle with the knee joint extended.

Contraindication

Freshly operated tears of the Achilles tendon do not tolerate powerful wide dorsiflexion. An ventral form of OSG-impingement can lead to pain in the anterior ankle area, even if this is less likely than in the soleus extension at the block.

Effects

Preparation

Follow-up

derived asanas:

similar asanas:

Regarding the effect on the gastrocnemius:
dog head down, parsvottanasana, parivrtta trikonasana, warrior 1, hip opening 5

Diagnostics (No.)

Varianten

on stairs

Instructions

  1. Place the ball of your right foot on a block, keeping your right heel on the floor.
  2. Place your left foot at a sufficient distance (about leg-width) backwards and slightly offset to the left.
  3. Move the pelvis forwards as far as the stretch sensation in the right gastrocnemius allows.

Details

  1. In contrast to the soleus stretch on the block, the knee should not be bent as far as possible in order to maximise the dorsiflexion in the ankle so that the soleus is stretched, but the knee joint remains stretched in order to achieve the stretching effect with increasing dorsiflexion purely in the gastrocnemius and no longer in the soleus. Naturally, the achievable degree of dorsiflexion is lower here. In addition, the stretch sensation is felt further proximally than with soleus stretch on the block, where it is often localised directly above the Achilles tendon.
  2. Because of the extended knee joint, the evasive movement of the knee towards the medial, which is frequently seen in the stretching of the soleus at the block, out of the original vertical plane through the three joints OSG, knee joint and hip joint is no longer present. This evasive movement occurs in the soleus extension at the block due to the supinating effect of the soleus and the possibility of exorotation of the lower leg in the knee joint provided by the knee flexion. In the hip joint, it is recognisable as endorotation and adduction.
  3. The main movement that maximises the stretch sensation in the gastrocnemius is the movement of the pelvis in a ventral direction with the leg extended. The other leg stabilises the stance. Make sure that you do not create an uncomfortable hollow back.
  4. In some cases, a slightly sharp sensation in the anterior ankle joint occurs in addition to or instead of the soleus stretching sensation or a sensation in the Achilles tendon, which may be due to OSG-impingement, as is more common in footballers, for example.
  5. The back foot can be placed at a slight angle as in the 1st warrior pose or straight if this is felt to be stable enough. In both cases, however, the back leg should be turned in and stretched out.

on stairs

Instructions

  1. Instead of placing the balls of one foot on a block as described above, place the balls of one or both feet on the beginning of a step so that the rest of the foot or both feet can sink freely opposite the level of the step.
  2. If necessary, hold on to the railing and lower your heel or both heels as far as possible.

Details

  1. The one-legged version is much more intense than the two-legged version. If there is an irritation of the calf muscles, such as a strain, or if there is significant damage to the Achilles tendon, you must proceed with appropriate caution. The two-legged variant may then be indicated first. If there is a strain, full stretching can be tolerated during a longer healing phase, but further increased tension in the affected muscles, i.e. the soleus or the gastrocnemius, as occurs when the heel is lifted, can quickly lead to a multiplication of the intensity and possibly to a NRS 10. In this case, the weight can be carefully shifted between the two feet to test the resilience of the affected muscle and also to intensify the stretching effect if it is insufficient in normal two-legged execution. Full resilience of the affected muscle in maximum stretching through complete weight shifting and full resilience of the affected muscle even when lifting the heel from maximum stretching is a necessary, but not yet a sufficient prerequisite for resuming running training or sports with a running component at the end of rehabilitation. Apart from the expected good scalable or provocable feedback from the two proprioceptors Golgi tendon organ for the applied tendon force and muscle spindle for the sarcomere length, no other sensation may occur.
  2. As the gastrocnemius and not the soleus is to be stretched here, the knee joint must remain extended. It is not necessary to move the pelvis forwards as in the basic posture described above if the step is so high that the heel cannot touch down anyway.