Plantar Flexion and Walking

  The main function of plantar flexor muscles is to keep the arch of the foot stable when walking, standing and running. Flexion occurs at the heel bone where the plantar fascia joins the calcaneus. This constant force on the heel bone and the weight of the body's activity causes the plantar flexor muscles to gradually contract and lengthen. With continuous lengthening of the plantar flexor muscles the tendons close over the joint becoming deformed. To investigate the physiological and functional significance of force variations during voluntary contractions with a selected muscle group, measured the effect of plantar flexor muscles during a selected postural muscle activity in 20 healthy adults and 20 young adults with plantar fasciitis. The study found significant increases in functional strength (measured by the percentage of maximum torque), power (measured as the percent of peak power recorded during the contraction) and resistance (measured as the mean force during static co...