Your calf muscles act as your body’s “second heart.” By strengthening your calf muscles, your overall health can have a foundation to flourish and detox. The proper muscle contractions in your calf muscles will help to support your lymphatic system by pushing the lymph fluid upwards. Our lymphatic system supports our immune and cardiovascular systems. Your lymphatic system flowing properly is key to feeling really good in your body and flushing out any heaviness that may be weighing you down. Your lymphatic system relies on muscle contractions since it lacks its own central pump.
The contraction of your calf muscles squeezes lymphatic vessels, clears metabolic waste, and moves any fluid stagnation. It’s a pump that supports your cardiovascular system from your periphery while the heart muscle pumps oxygen-rich blood down to your legs. That blood then needs a boost to pump the deoxygenated blood back up. Every time your calf muscles contract, they are helping to reduce the workload of your heart. Your calf muscles boost your immune system when their regular contraction clears metabolic waste, lactic acid, and toxins from your tissues to your lymph nodes for processing and elimination from your body. This helps to reduce muscle fatigue.
By strengthening your calf muscles, you can improve lower body stability, enhance your balance and posture, and even regulate your metabolism. When activated, calf muscles will help to improve your circulation by squeezing your veins to efficiently pump blood back up to your heart. This is crucial to prevent swelling and varicose veins. Strong calf muscles stabilize ankles to reduce the risk of falling, prevent shin splints, and also help to decrease stress on your knees, hips, and foot arches with impact while walking or running. Contracting your calf muscles boosts metabolic health by regulating glucose levels—one of the many reasons why walking after meals helps with diabetes.
Exercises specifically targeted to help the calves pump blood upward against gravity are important. Calf raises are effective. Stand on the edge of a stair or sturdy elevation to rise on your toes and then lower your heels as far as you can. You can also do calf raises on the ground and do a variety of upper body movements to swing your arms or bend your elbows. Ankle pumps can be done sitting or lying down. Point your toes forward and flex them back repeatedly. You can even do seated calf raises, which contract the soleus muscle that is part of your calves. Rock back and forth from your toes to your heels, which can be done seated or standing.
If your lymphatic or cardiovascular system needs a boost, try calf exercises to help your body out! Other ways to support your lymphatic system include lymphatic drainage massages, vibrational plate therapy, dry brushing, and herbs to support the flow of lymph, such as Burdock Root. Here at Wellness Matters, we have all of these options. We can create custom tinctures for your wellness needs or schedule a Lymphatic Drainage Massage with red light therapy. Reach out for wellness support anytime!
