Went to see my massage therapist yesterday. He spent an entire hour and a quarter just working on my feet and legs. And he really went digging for gold, let me tell you. Deep tissue? Pshaw, 'tain't nothing to that. No siree! He went to the bottom of the Marianas Trench! But, being that he held my most painful calf, the left, in the palm of his hand, he was able to make several quite astute (though no less painful) observations about that particular item of my anatomy.
"You have some funny calves." There, now its no longer my secret, I thought. I didn't say it out loud, of course. But what I did say was, "Uh, funny, ha ha? Or, funny, you may want to take out a life insurance policy?" He thought this was superb massage table humor. Yes - he laughed. But then he said this: "the top of your calf narrows from it's widest point very abruptly. Most people's calves taper from the widest point to the insertion of the tendon more gradually." I suggested that perhaps it's because I'm just special, but he wasn't biting (thank goodness.) He knows about my "special" problem - yep - post-club feet, so I wasn't going to get away with anything on this go-round. So, we just bantered back and forth for a while, doing that speculative boogie occasioned by people with a fetish for biomechanics like to do.
It occurred to me that this may be another aspect of the overall issue of atrophy peculiar to Post-Club Feet, where the actual muscle fibers are substantially different compared to the general population. They are in fact shorter fibers, when viewed under a microscope. So perhaps this shortening of the fibers also manifests with this more abrupt tapering of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles as they approach the posterior knee. And that brings us to this week's question for the clubbie hoards out there: Do you have this particular shape to your calf muscles, where they taper toward the knee very abruptly? You can test this a number of ways to arrive at your answer:
Compare your calf to another family member's or friend's calf muscles. Palpate (that just means feel) your own calf's shape, then palpate the shape of your "control group." Then, try it with a few more people, to rule out ( somewhat) the random factor. Focus on the upper third of the calf, from the widest part to the back of the knee. Yes, I am asking you all to participate in a very simple bit of research. And if you want to take it a step further, then get out your camera! Have someone photograph the backs of your calves, while you are standing. Then, photograph each of your "control group's" calves in the same posture. If there is something to this bit of speculation, and if we can entice a sufficient number of you clubbies into taking part in it, we may actually be able to add something to the rather limited knowledge base regarding post-club feet!
Now, wouldn't that be fun?!
"You have some funny calves." There, now its no longer my secret, I thought. I didn't say it out loud, of course. But what I did say was, "Uh, funny, ha ha? Or, funny, you may want to take out a life insurance policy?" He thought this was superb massage table humor. Yes - he laughed. But then he said this: "the top of your calf narrows from it's widest point very abruptly. Most people's calves taper from the widest point to the insertion of the tendon more gradually." I suggested that perhaps it's because I'm just special, but he wasn't biting (thank goodness.) He knows about my "special" problem - yep - post-club feet, so I wasn't going to get away with anything on this go-round. So, we just bantered back and forth for a while, doing that speculative boogie occasioned by people with a fetish for biomechanics like to do.
It occurred to me that this may be another aspect of the overall issue of atrophy peculiar to Post-Club Feet, where the actual muscle fibers are substantially different compared to the general population. They are in fact shorter fibers, when viewed under a microscope. So perhaps this shortening of the fibers also manifests with this more abrupt tapering of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles as they approach the posterior knee. And that brings us to this week's question for the clubbie hoards out there: Do you have this particular shape to your calf muscles, where they taper toward the knee very abruptly? You can test this a number of ways to arrive at your answer:
Compare your calf to another family member's or friend's calf muscles. Palpate (that just means feel) your own calf's shape, then palpate the shape of your "control group." Then, try it with a few more people, to rule out ( somewhat) the random factor. Focus on the upper third of the calf, from the widest part to the back of the knee. Yes, I am asking you all to participate in a very simple bit of research. And if you want to take it a step further, then get out your camera! Have someone photograph the backs of your calves, while you are standing. Then, photograph each of your "control group's" calves in the same posture. If there is something to this bit of speculation, and if we can entice a sufficient number of you clubbies into taking part in it, we may actually be able to add something to the rather limited knowledge base regarding post-club feet!
Now, wouldn't that be fun?!
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