A New Way to Stretch Your Calves
I’m a big fan of getting right to the point.
There is nothing I dislike more than expending a lot of energy without any results. This is one of the many reasons I love using pin-and-stretch techniques in treatments, and I especially love teaching my clients how to use this simple method for self-care outside of sessions.
To perform a pin-and-stretch technique, I place a “pin” in the belly of a muscle using a part of my body, such as my thumb, fist, or forearm, and I stretch the muscle by moving one of the muscle attachments away from the pin. By pinning the muscle, I concentrate the force of the stretch to the area of the muscle between the pin and attachment. This allows me to specifically target that “spot” in the muscle—you know, the one that you pointed out when you walked into the treatment room and told me about that “tight, angry spot rightttt hereee.”
This might sound complicated, but in reality, you don’t need to be an anatomy-wiz to perform this technique.
If you know generally where you’re experiencing a feeling of restriction in a muscle and how you might go about stretching that area of the body, you can replicate this for yourself.
Here’s an example of how I could use a pin-and-stretch to work on a client with a complaint in the lower calf. I find this technique especially helpful for any athletes, runners, or dancers that are experiencing issues with their calves.
With the client lying face down, I place my thumb or fist (the “pin”) in her lower leg above the area of complaint (see photo above - left). I then stretch the muscle by flexing her foot, pulling her foot towards her shin. This pulls the attachment away from the pin (see photo above - right).
I can perform this stretch with the knee bent and the knee straight to target different muscles in the region
(see photos below)
You can achieve the same effect using a tennis ball or other massage ball on yourself.
Sit on the floor with your leg extended in front of you. Place the ball closer to the knee than the target area (see photo below - left) and flex your foot (see photo below - right). Most likely, you’ll experience the majority of sensation in the area between your ankle and the ball.
The beauty of this technique is that it can be performed pretty much everywhere on the body if you’re willing to get creative, and you can imitate the force of another person working on your body without significant effort. After all, there’s no sense in straining when you’re just looking for a little relief!
ABOUT KATHLEEN BOSTLEMAN , LMT
Kathleen began practicing yoga while dancing professionally in San Francisco and New York, and she completed her 200-hr teacher training at YogaWorks in Brooklyn.
She went on to study Massage Therapy at Orion Institute, and she holds a BFA in Ballet from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She hopes to create spaces for others seeking a refuge for self-study through movement and breath, and she believes that observing sensation is the first step in listening to ourselves.
