Soleus

Joe Muscolino

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The soleus of the superficial posterior compartment of the (lower) leg.

The Soleus is located in the Superficial Posterior Compartment of the (lower) leg. The muscles in the superficial posterior compartment are:

 

ATTACHMENTS:

  • Posterior tibia and fibula to the calcaneus via the Achilles/calcaneal tendon.
    • The proximal attachments are onto the soleal line of the tibia and the head and proximal 1/3 of the fibula.

 

ACTIONS:

  • Plantarflexes the foot at the ankle joint.
  • Inverts (Supinates) the foot at the subtalar joint.

 

NOTES:

  1. The soleus is a very thick muscle; it is usually thicker than the gastrocnemius. “Behind every great gastrocnemius is a great soleus.” 🙂
  2. The soleus is part of the triceps surae group (along with the two heads of the gastrocnemius.
  3. Inversion is the principal cardinal-plane (frontal-plane) component of the oblique-plane motion pattern of supination.