You can begin gently stretching your calf muscle using the towel stretch right away. Make sure you only get a gentle pull and not a sharp pain while you are doing this stretch. After you can do the towel stretch easily, you can start the standing calf stretch. After a couple days of stretching, you can begin strengthening your calf and lower leg muscles by using a Ther-Band as shown in exercises 3 and 4. You may do exercises 5, 6, and 7 when you can stand on your toes without pain.
1. TOWEL STRETCH - Sit on a hard surface with your injured leg stretched out in front of you. Loop a towel around the ball of your foot, and pull the towel toward your body. Be sure to keep your knee straight. Hold this position for thirty seconds and repeat three times.
2. STANDING CALF STRETCH - Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at about eye level. Keep the injured leg back, and the heel of your injured leg on the floor. Turn your injured foot slightly inward as you slowly lean into the wall, until you can feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold for thirty seconds. Do this several times a day.
3. RESISTED DORSIFLEXION - sitting with your leg out straight and your foot near a door, wrap the tubing around the ball of your foot. Anchor the other end of the tubing to the door by tying a knot in the tubing, slipping it between the door and the frame, and closing the door. Pull your toes toward your face. Return slowly to the starting position. Repeat 10 times, and do 3 sets of 10.
4. RESISTED PLANTAR FLEXION - sitting with your leg outstretched, loop the middle section of the tubing around the ball of your foot. Hold the ends of the tubing in both hands. Gently press the ball of your foot down, and point your toes, stretching the THERA-BAND. Return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times, and do 3 sets of 10
5. HEEL RAISES - While standing, balance yourself on both feet behind a chair. Rise up on your toes, hold for five seconds, and then lower yourself back down. Repeat 10 times, and do 3 sets of 10.
6. SINGLE LEG BALANCE - Attempt to balance on your injured leg while not letting the arch of that foot flatten. Do not curl your toes. Try to hold this position for 30 seconds. After this becomes too easy, do it with your eyes closed.
7. WALL JUMP - Face a wall and place a piece of masking tape on the wall about 2 feet above your head. Jump up with your arms above your head and try to touch the tape. Make sure you do a "spring" type of motion, and do not land hard on your feet. Progress to taking off and landing on one foot.
Another good exercise is hopping. You can start at one end of the room and try to hop as high as you can across the room on one foot. Jumping rope is another good exercise.
1. TOWEL STRETCH - Sit on a hard surface with your injured leg stretched out in front of you. Loop a towel around the ball of your foot, and pull the towel toward your body. Be sure to keep your knee straight. Hold this position for thirty seconds and repeat three times.
2. STANDING CALF STRETCH - Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at about eye level. Keep the injured leg back, and the heel of your injured leg on the floor. Turn your injured foot slightly inward as you slowly lean into the wall, until you can feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold for thirty seconds. Do this several times a day.
3. RESISTED DORSIFLEXION - sitting with your leg out straight and your foot near a door, wrap the tubing around the ball of your foot. Anchor the other end of the tubing to the door by tying a knot in the tubing, slipping it between the door and the frame, and closing the door. Pull your toes toward your face. Return slowly to the starting position. Repeat 10 times, and do 3 sets of 10.
4. RESISTED PLANTAR FLEXION - sitting with your leg outstretched, loop the middle section of the tubing around the ball of your foot. Hold the ends of the tubing in both hands. Gently press the ball of your foot down, and point your toes, stretching the THERA-BAND. Return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times, and do 3 sets of 10
5. HEEL RAISES - While standing, balance yourself on both feet behind a chair. Rise up on your toes, hold for five seconds, and then lower yourself back down. Repeat 10 times, and do 3 sets of 10.
6. SINGLE LEG BALANCE - Attempt to balance on your injured leg while not letting the arch of that foot flatten. Do not curl your toes. Try to hold this position for 30 seconds. After this becomes too easy, do it with your eyes closed.
7. WALL JUMP - Face a wall and place a piece of masking tape on the wall about 2 feet above your head. Jump up with your arms above your head and try to touch the tape. Make sure you do a "spring" type of motion, and do not land hard on your feet. Progress to taking off and landing on one foot.
