The Achilles Tendon is made up of two major muscles and one
insignificant muscle. The two muscles are the Soleus, which does
not cross the knee and the Gastrocnemius which does cross the
knee. The distinction is important because most people only
stretch the Gastrocs (see the typical runners stretch with the
knee straight). Very few people I treat regularly stretch their
Soleus. The best way to do this is to be on the floor in a
sprinters start and you will feel the stretch in back of the
calf in the forward leg- this will be the Soleus that is
stretching. Sometime in middle age, around age 35 or so, I often
see calf strains. The situation is typically one where the
muscle is fatigued, and the person steps backwards, like on a
tennis court or basketball court, and they feel like they have
been hit or kicked in the back of the leg. Typically, it is the
medial third of the Gastrocs that gets strained. this is a
muscle/tendon junction injury and can be easily treated, with a
good outcome for return to sport. At