Trigger point · Lower leg

Gastrocnemius — medial head

The night cramp, and the arch that aches for no reason. The medial head of the gastrocnemius is the inner of the two bellies that make the calf's diamond shape, and its point refers forward into the instep — the arch of the foot — which is a long way from where it lives. It is also the point most associated with the calf cramps that wake people at night. That combination makes it useful twice: it explains an arch ache in someone whose foot is entirely healthy, and it gives a therapist something to do about a symptom clients usually accept as unexplained. Note this record is deliberately not numbered — see the naming note in this file's header.