Lets talk calves: do tendons grow like muscles?

yirara
yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
edited March 2020 in Fitness and Exercise
I feel very conscious about my lower legs. Going up from the ankles at the back there's no slim shape but what looks like a second calf ending right above the ankles. It's not fat unless the fat is underneath the muscle. It also can't be lipoedema as I've had these lovely legs as a very early teen or earlier, and it never got worse. Sure, there's a very thin, soft layer of fat on top, but otherwise just very thick muscle underneath. When I was underweight at a certain time nothing had changed, other than the thin layer of fat. Doesn't help that the muscles at the front/side are very pronounced as well as is the arch underneath my feet.

Looking at a sketch of the calves I see that there are some muscles running down at the back/side, but otherwise mainly tendons: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/13/13/c41313bddb2b373696d1f74b29040872.jpg
Ehm.. tendons can't hypertroph, right?

I mean, I have an idea, but not sure... basically I have completely hypermobile ankles. Always had. I use various lower leg and foot muscles and tendons to keep me upright. It's completely automatic and I don't notice this unless I wear tight boots as I then simply fall over due to not being able to use these muscles as I'm used to.

I just want to wear shorts, and maybe even a skirt once in a while, but feel so conscious about my lower legs :( I guess there's nothing I can do, right?

Replies

  • klrenn
    klrenn Posts: 245 Member
    edited March 2020
    Sounds like your soleus muscle. In the sketch you posted, that purple muscle that’s labeled the soleus isn’t just that bit, it lies across the whole calf under the gastroc and the tendinous tissue that ultimately forms the Achilles’ tendon

    I hope that makes sense, I don’t feel like I’m explaining it well.

    Edited to add...since you say it’s been like this since you were a teen it sounds like the natural shape of your muscles. (Higher/lower insertion points, leg length, etc, affect the shape and can’t really be changed)



  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    A friend had an entire extra muscle in her calf/ankle region that they removed when they fixed her Achilles injury. Things went better for her than expected because she was able to provide her own "spare parts." O_O I never asked if the extra muscle was a symmetrical feature on both legs.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I can't even visualize what you're talking about. A second calf? Muscles in front?

    It might help if you posted a picture or drawing of what you mean.

    I don't post photos of me, but.. sometimes you see photos of women with really stocky lower legs where the calve seems to continue right to the top of the ankle. Kind of like that. But it's not fat or fluid but muscle for me. Added to that I've injured my ankles so often that there's lots of thick scarring around them, which makes everything look even worse.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    klrenn wrote: »
    Sounds like your soleus muscle. In the sketch you posted, that purple muscle that’s labeled the soleus isn’t just that bit, it lies across the whole calf under the gastroc and the tendinous tissue that ultimately forms the Achilles’ tendon

    I hope that makes sense, I don’t feel like I’m explaining it well.

    Edited to add...since you say it’s been like this since you were a teen it sounds like the natural shape of your muscles. (Higher/lower insertion points, leg length, etc, affect the shape and can’t really be changed)



    Thanks a lot for the bit of anatomy info. That's really very appreciated! Yes, it looks like that muscle (or any other one) starts right above the ankles. Talking about nice shapely legs :( Actually, I have fairly long legs (and arms, am a bit of an ape), and somehow my parents decided to give me lots of muscle to hide this :s Well, can't blame them. They have perrrfect lower legs.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    I just want to wear shorts, and maybe even a skirt once in a while

    Not sure which country you're in, but it's legal here. Try it and see if anyone stops you. :+1:

    I wear ankle-long saris every now and then in summer. That's as far as I'll go as I feel too insecure. And no, I'm not a young girl.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,450 Member
    You know, we all have something about our bodies that makes us mental. For me it’s hunched scoliosis, which also makes me look like I have a beer belly.

    As my husband once wisely consoled me, when I went into floods of tears on an old house rehab project we were working on together, “Honey, relax. It’s better than it was before.”

    I’ve tried to take that to heart on everything in my life since then, including the ultimate rehab project: me!!!!
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    Tendons can grow and get stronger, but takes longer than muscles. This is one reason why athletes on gear (illegal steroids, HGH, etc) often have tendon injuries, the muscle strength increases faster then the strength of the tendons.

    Good article:
    https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/is-it-possible-to-make-tendons-stronger/
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    Based on what you are describing, I think you just genetically have differently shaped legs than you desire. My sister and I both have different body shapes. I have very small ankles and wrists. She has larger sticky ankles and thicker wrists. She also naturally has a flatter tummy than I do at the same weight. We both wear dresses and skirts and we both feel self conscious about different things. We also both wear shorts. (Mostly longer shorts for modesty reasons.). If you really want to wear shorts or a skirt, try it. Don’t worry about what other people think. You might feel more confident about it after trying it a few times. Maybe even go to the store fitting room and try on different shapes and styles to see which looks best on your overall shape.

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