What is Tennis Leg (Calf Muscle Tear)?

Tennis leg refers to an injury of the calf muscle, more specifically the medial gastrocnemius muscle and the aponeurosis (connective tissue junction) between the medial gastrocnemius and the deeper soleus muscle of the calf.

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The gastrocnemius originates from the femoral condyles of the femur (large bony prominences at the end of the long bones of the thigh) just above the knee, The muscle has two heads; the lateral head and medial head. The soleus muscle is the largest muscle of the calf complex and sits in front (deep to) the gastrocnemius.

The lateral and medial head of the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscle converge to form the Achilles tendon, a common area of pain. The Achilles tendon inserts into the heel bone (calcaneus). The gastrocnemius is a powerful muscle that is used for dynamic and explosive movements, such as running and jumping. It is also involved in walking and standing activities but to a much lesser extent (Prakash et al., 2017).

The soleus muscle is a broad flat muscle that lies underneath the gastrocnemius. This is a powerful muscle which provides postural control and is the primary muscle used during walking (Prakash et al., 2017).

A calf muscle tear or tennis leg is the third most commonly treated muscle injury of the lower limb. Only being superseded by injuries to the bicep femoris (outer portion of hamstring muscle) and the rectus femoris (large powerful muscle of the thigh) (Domeracki et al., 2018).