Plantaris, between the heads of the gastrocnemius, slightly lateral to the midline, at the tibial plateau
- TrP (Travell & Simons, vol. 2, ch. 22 — plantaire)
Record status
Documentary views
The muscle and the place
Plantaris, between the heads of the gastrocnemius, slightly lateral to the midline, at the tibial plateau
What the finger seeks
No manual manoeuvre specific to this muscle is described by the authors; for injection, they pass the needle through the lateral head of the gastrocnemius to reach the TrP, away from the midline.
The authors say the plantaris’s taut band is unlikely to be palpable: the frail, variable muscle stays mostly covered by the thick lateral head of the gastrocnemius — which may itself carry trigger points and blur the search.
Sources
- travell-tpm-2 · vol. 2, ch. 22 — p. 466 (bande peu palpable, sensibilité difficile à identifier), p. 453 (muscle recouvert par le chef latéral du gastrocnémien), p. 470 (locus, abord par le chef latéral du gastrocnémien, ligne médiane)
What pressure brings out
The pain gathers at the back of the knee; it may extend down the back of the calf to mid-leg.
In some patients, a TrP in the vicinity of the plantaris reaches the sole of the foot and the base of the big toe.
Sources
- travell-tpm-2 · p. 445, 447-448 — patron essentiel (arrière du genou, mollet jusqu’au milieu de la jambe, confirmé par la légende de la figure pour le plantaire droit) et débordement (plante du pied, gros orteil) chez certains patients
The technique
Invasive technique not publishable: the structured contract is incomplete.
Caution
The source gives, for this place, neither a needle length nor a distance to a structure — only a path, through the lateral head of the gastrocnemius, and a structure to avoid, the popliteal neurovascular bundle, on the midline.
Convergence
This section requires a distance explicitly referencing this geometrically placed locus. A distance to its carrying muscle is never assigned to it.
no convergence calculated for this place