Flexor toe muscles

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The toe flexor muscles are divided into long and short toe flexors. The long toe flexor muscles have their muscle belly on the lower leg (which is why they are among the "extrinsic" muscles that are not in the area of ​​the foot) and have long tendons that pull behind the inner ankle to the foot and on the sole side to the toes . The short toe flexors are located on the sole side of the metatarsus and forefoot and are therefore part of the intrinsic muscles.

Long toe flexors

The long Zehenbeuger flexor hallucis longus and the flexor digitorum longus pull the calf and shin about the ankle and metatarsophalangeal joints to the Zehenendgliedern and cause at contraction a plantar flexion of the foot in the ankle joint, an by the position behind the medial malleolus Supination of the foot in the lower ankle and plantar flexion of the toes in the metatarsophalangeal joints. The long toe flexors make up about 10% of the physiological cross section of all lower leg muscles (in comparison: M. triceps surae 63%, M. tibialis posterior 10%, M. peroneus 8%, M. tibialis anterior 5%, toe extensor 4%).

Short toe flexors

The short toe flexors as the flexor digitorum brevis , quadratus plantae muscle , abductor digiti minimi and abductor hallucis pull the heel bone over the metatarsophalangeal joints to the Zehenendgliedern and support the long toe flexors in the plantar flexion of the toes in the toe joints. The short toe flexors make up 80% of the physiological cross section of the foot muscles. Interossei and flexor digiti minimi brevis , which have their origin in the metatarsal bones, and the lumbricales are also involved in the flexion of the toes .

Biomechanics

Although the muscles are relatively small, they have to carry heavy loads. The tendons of the long toe flexors carry 36% and 52% of the body weight, respectively, while walking. The toe flexors influence the pressure distribution under the forefoot and the height of the medial longitudinal arch. You are active in the middle support and push-off phase of upright locomotion.

The toe flexors are the last link in the chain of muscle drives. Large muscle groups stretch the hip, knee and ankle joints in upright locomotion and accelerate the body forwards. The toe flexors counteract dorsiflexion of the toes in the metatarsophalangeal joints through internal plantar flexion moments. The toe flexors produce maximum plantar flexion moments around the metatarsophalangeal joint between 6 Nm and 31 Nm.

The generation of force depends on the positioning of the ankle and metatarsophalangeal joints and the training condition of the muscles. The toe flexors can generate the highest torques at the metatarsophalangeal joint at 0 ° to 10 ° dorsiflexion in the ankle joint and at 25 ° to 45 ° dorsiflexion in the metatarsophalangeal joint. The lowest torques are applied at 35 ° plantar flexion in the ankle joint and 0 ° dorsiflexion in the metatarsophalangeal joint. The toe flexors adapt to an increased training stimulus after just a few weeks. It has been shown that your isometric maximum strength increases after intensive training in a dynamometer (90% of the maximum, voluntary, isometric contraction; 7 weeks - 28 units - 5 Wh - 4 sets - 3 s contraction - 3 s rest; a total of 560 Contractions) increased by 60-70%. In addition, after training the toe flexors, the athletes were able to significantly increase their sports motor performance in horizontal jumps by 3%. The toe flexors can also be stimulated and trained by flexible shoe material. A three-week athletic training session with a minimal shoe increased the strength of the toe flexors by 15–22%. The effect of the shoe was estimated to be 6–10% (depending on the positioning of the metatarsophalangeal joint).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TL Wickiewicz include: Muscle architecture of the human lower limb. In: Clin Orthop. 179, 1983, p. 275.
  2. ↑ H. Kura et al .: Quantitative analysis of the intrinsic muscles of the foot. In: Anat Rec . 249, 1, 1997, p. 143.
  3. ^ HA Jacob: Forces acting in the forefoot during normal gait - an estimate. In: Clin Biomech. (Bristol, Avon), 16, 2001, p. 783.
  4. ↑ L. Ferris et al .: Influence of extrinsic plantar flexors on forefoot loading during heel rise. In: Foot Ankle Int. 16, 1995, p. 464.
  5. ^ AJ Hamel et al .: Contributions of active and passive toe flexion to forefoot loading. In: Clin Orthop. 393, 12, 2001, p. 326.
  6. ^ DB Thordarson et al .: Dynamic support of the human longitudinal arch. A biomechanical evaluation. In: Clin Orthop. 316, Jul 1995, p. 165.
  7. ↑ P. Fiolkowski et al .: Intrinsic pedal musculature support of the medial longitudinal arch: an electromyography study. In: J Foot Ankle Surg. 42, 2003, p. 327.
  8. ^ R. Mann, VT Inman: Phasic Activity Of Intrinsic Muscles Of The Foot. In: Journal Of Bone And Joint Surgery-American. Volume 46, 1964, p. 469.
  9. ^ M. Fujita: Role of the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints of the foot in level walking. In: Nippon Seikeigeka Gakkai Zasshi. 59, 1985, p. 985.
  10. ↑ A. Arndt et al: Effects of fatigue and load variation on metatarsal deformation measured in vivo during barefoot walking. In: J Biomech. 35, 2002, p. 621.
  11. ^ A b J. P. Goldmann, GP Brüggemann: The potential of human toe flexor muscles to produce force. In: J Anat . 221 (2), 2012, p. 187.
  12. ↑ a b J. P. Goldmann et al .: The potential of toe flexor muscles to enhance performance. In: J Sports Sci. 31 (4), 2013, p. 424.
  13. ↑ JP Goldmann et al .: Athletic training with minimal footwear strengthens toe flexor muscles. In: Footwear Science. 5 (1) 2013, p. 19.